


Resurgence

by CrystalNinjaPhoenix



Series: Crystal's Septic Fic Universe [5]
Category: jacksepticeye
Genre: Breaking the Fourth Wall, Gen, Original Characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:08:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25254358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNinjaPhoenix/pseuds/CrystalNinjaPhoenix
Summary: It's May 2018, and the group of Chase, Jackie, Marvin, and JJ are suddenly thrown into chaos as their enemy known as Antisepticeye comes out of a months-long hiatus to mess with them again. It starts when the good doctor Schneep finally returns, but soon events takes many different turns, and Anti's plan goes a lot deeper than it appears...
Relationships: Chase & Henrik, Jackie & Chase, Jackie & Henrik, Jameson & Henrik, Jameson & Marvin
Series: Crystal's Septic Fic Universe [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842199
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Red Light

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is sort of a follow-up to my fic Possessed, though it gets a lot longer than that, so maybe you could consider Possessed as a small prequel lol. This is my thoughts on what could've happened back during Mayhem, with all the little hints we got then. Specifically Mayhem 2018, nothing later. It's my longest running fic series (mainly cause I don't update it that often, haha) on Tumblr, so if my writing style changes throughout the story, that's why. Hope you enjoy!

It was one of Chase’s bad days. Most of the time, he could get up and go out without much trouble, and occasionally he was even excited to do so. But sometimes, more often than he would’ve liked, there were days when he felt like he was just going through the motions, and couldn’t must the strength to do anything other than sit in the corner and think about the way things used to be.

Today, Chase decided to drink himself to death, or at least to unconsciousness. It didn’t work. He made a note to buy stronger whiskey…soon…at some point… and headed to bed without even changing his clothes.

But something woke him up. For a moment he just lay there, wondering why he was awake. Then he heard something that wouldn’t sound out of place in a horror movie: a little girl’s laughter.

Fear shot through him. He would’ve recognized that sound anywhere. But why would Bobby be here? It wasn’t the weekend…was it? Chase couldn’t remember. He sat up, head swimming. If Bobby was nearby, then Trevor had to be, too. The two of them were inseparable. Did that mean Stacy was with them? God, he hoped she wasn’t. He didn’t want her to see him like this.

Chase stood up and stumbled toward the light switch. He flipped it on, but nothing happened. Confused and bleary, he flicked it a couple more times for good measure. No, it was still pitch-black, and he still couldn’t see shit. He staggered back the way he came until he ran into the beside dresser. Running his hands over the surface, he grabbed a small rectangular object. Chase fumbled with the lighter a couple times until he managed to get a steady flame going.

His children’s laughter was ringing in the silence of the house. He was having trouble understanding _why_ they were in his house, but they were, and he knew he had to find them. He left the bedroom, the floor seeming to sway beneath his feet. He had to get to Bobby and Trevor.

Something was deeply wrong.

The hallway was lit red. And there was a tingle in the air, like static electricity, but more…malevolent, somehow. The laughter seemed to be coming from all around, echoing inside his mind. And then Chase turned the corner.

“Who’s there?” he called.

There was a man standing in the doorway, barely more than a silhouette, outlined by the eerie red light. He looked…well, he looked a lot like Chase himself, but…he was almost a perfect copy of Jack. But it couldn’t be him. Jack was asleep, safe in a hospital. And strangely, the world seemed to be warping around the man, bleeding at the edges, making Chase see double. The man turned around slowly, and static hissed and whined as his right eye lit up, emitting a bright green light.

Suddenly, Chase realized who it was.

But what was he doing here? Had he lured Chase here with the familiar sounds of his kids? Or…

“Where are they?” Chase yelled, practically pleading. “What do you want from me?!”

There was no answer, but Anti drew closer. The way reality was breaking around him made it difficult to predict when he would arrive, and sooner than expected Chase found himself pinned to the wall. Double faces swam in the crimson glow.

“ Yo̷ur̢ ͢f̡r͏ie͞ņd͠ is w̴ea͞k,” Anti’s voice sounded like white noise made into words. “B͝ut͢ ͟he ̸c͢o͠uld be ͏w͝ȩa͝ker̨. Yo̷u ̶wan͝t ̡t̴o see̷ them a̡g͝ain?̢” A strange, broken laugh. “ M͝ake ̕s̡ure̡ ͠h̷e͟ n͢e̛ver̵͏ ͏w͢a̡kes̴͡ ͟up.̧”

The world broke into pieces of pixels, red and green flashing in a nausea-inducing pattern. Chase collapsed to the floor, dropping the lighter. Everything went dark.

* * *

Chase blinked open his eyes to a raging headache. Was it morning? The hallway was still dark, but not completely black, and the red light was gone. The lighter had thankfully gone out. Chase had enough trouble without worrying about his house burning down.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It looked like he had two options. Sacrifice his best friend, or sacrifice his children. Could he go through with either of them? Was it all a trick? Would Anti even keep his word? He simply didn’t know.

Using the wall to keep himself steady, he stood up and made his way back to his room, where he’d left his phone the previous night. He needed to make a call.

“Hey, Jackie.”

“Chase! Good lord, you sound awful. You okay?”

“Gee, thanks bro. I’m fine, just not feeling too good.”

“You weren’t drinking again, were you?”

“Nah. But anyway, I was calling to say I couldn’t make it today.”

“Really? What happened?”

“I, uh, realized it’s been a while since I’ve been to the hospital. So I thought, now’s as good a time as any.”

“Alright. Marvin’s gonna be pissed.”

“That’s why I called you instead of him. He’ll understand, though.”

“Not gonna stop him from being pissed about it. But I’ll tell him and JJ about where you are. They’ll come around.”

“Thanks, bro. Catch you later?”

“Sure! See you ‘round.”

Chase couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that swept over him. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do once he got to the hospital, but he knew that whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be a good decision.

Because it seemed that bad decisions were the only ones he could make.


	2. Pulling the Plug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase visits Jack in the hospital, making a critical decision. An old friend returns before he can act.

As always, the hospital was lit by fluorescent bulbs, the artificial light making the white walls even brighter. The place was so clean and sterile that Chase felt dirty just standing there, even though he’d taken time to shower and change clothes. The curly-haired nurse at the reception desk—Jan, her ID read—greeted Chase in an overly happy voice, “Hello sir! Are you visiting or are you here for an appointment?”

“I’m, uh, just visiting,” Chase mumbled.

“Great! Do you need any help finding the patient you’re looking for?”

“No, I-I know where I’m going.”

“Visiting hours end at eight tonight, so don’t take too long.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“Have a nice visit!”

Chase had long ago memorized the hallways. Even though it had been a while since he’d been there, he still remembered every step that led to the door labeled _Pediatric Intensive Care Unit_. He swung open the door and made his way to Room 108. Patient: Jack William McLoughlin.

The room was silent except for the steady beep of the heart monitor. Just like every other room in the hospital, Jack’s was brightly lit at all times of day. There were no windows. What good would they do when the patient was never awake to look out them? Jack lay underneath the clean hospital blankets, breathing slowly and steadily. He was hooked up to various tubes for all his bodily functions: breathing, nutrition, you name it. Above the heart monitor, another jagged green line measured brain activity. A single, uncomfortable-looking hospital chair was placed next to the bed. Chase crossed the room and sat down.

He cleared his throat. “Hi, Jack.” He wasn’t sure if his friend could hear him, but it usually helped him keep up hope. “Just, uh, came to check up on you. It’s been a while. Everyone else is doing fine, in case you were wondering. We had plans to hang out today, but, uh, things happened…”

Chase swallowed nervously. As always, there was no answer from Jack, not even a twitch. Chase continued, “The kids were doin’ fine, last I saw them. It’s almost time for summer vacation. Trevor is really excited to start his second year. He’s gonna try out for football, he says. Bobby, well, she’s never really liked school, you know. I’m worried it’s because the other kids don’t play with her. She just needs to get her temper under control, and then…and then…”

Chase trailed off, feeling tears in his eyes. “I can’t do it, Jack,” he whispered. “Bobby and Trevor…they’re everything to me. They have so much life and potential and—and they’re just kids. And now _he_ has them. I can’t—I can’t just leave them to him. you…you get it, right? You know why I’m going to do this, right? Please. I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m sorry.”

He’d never messed with the medical equipment before. He’d never had reason to. But it couldn’t be too hard. The life support machine had to run on electricity, and that meant there had to be a plug somewhere. Chase stood up, examining the equipment. Sure enough, a long cord ran from the bed to an outlet near the base of the wall.

Still, he hesitated. Was he really about to do it? Was he really about to kill his best friend?

What other choice was there?

He knelt by the outlet, grabbing the cord. Slowly, he started to pull it out…

“ _What are you doing!?_ ”

Chase looked up, only to immediately get knocked away from the life support cord. His hat flew off and he landed flat on his back. “Hey!” He pushed himself up to a sitting position. “Who even—” he stopped. There was no way. It had to be a trick of some sort.

“ _Doc?_ ”

Indeed, there was no mistaking the good doctor himself, Henrik von Schneeplestein. He looked absolutely terrible. He’d lost weight, his white coat was covered in old bloodstains, his glasses were missing, and there was a terrible scar around his neck. But his eyes were alight, and he stared at Chase with an expression of shock and anger.

“Yes, indeed, my friend,” the doctor said. “I do not think you would forget so easily. But maybe I am mistaken. If what I have seen you doing is what I think it is, then maybe your mind is missing entirely.”

“Wha—no, I—oh my god, you’re _alive_.” Chase slowly stood up, dazed, looking over every inch of his missing friend. “We all thought the worst—I mean, we never gave up hope—well, Marvin got close, I think, but maybe that’s just the pessimist in him. And there was that fucked up postcard back in March…but you’re back now. You’re back.”

Schneep made a small sound in his throat. “Yes, yes, but not right now. I need to know why you were planning on disconnecting Jack’s life support machine.”

“I—” Chase felt the tears welling up again. “It’s not my fault. An—someone has my kids. He told me I had to—to get rid of Jack if I ever wanted to see them again.”

Schneep’s eyes widened. He crossed the few steps separating him and Chase, grasping his friend by the shoulders. “You—you have seen _him_?” he whispered.

Chase nodded. “Yeah, we’ve had a couple encounters. It’s…complicated. But he showed up at my house last night and…and…” he choked on the end of his sentence.

“Well then…” Schneep paused. Chase could see the gears of his mind working. “We need to get your kids back.” He whirled around, stumbling and leaning against the wall for support. “We need to find the others. We need…we need to…where are they?”

“Whoa, dude, are you okay?” Chase hurried to his friend’s side. “I mean, you look…you look like you’ve been through hell.”

“Hell? Ha. I suppose you could describe it that way. But not right now. Your kids are in danger. We have to move quickly.”

“I, uh, okay if you insist…I can text them, see where they are. And you know, tell them you’re alive.” Chase pulled his phone out of his pocket with one hand, keeping the other on Schneep’s arm in case he needed support. He selected the first contact and typed out a quick message: **“Doc is back. No time 2 xplain. Where r u guys?”**

A few moments passed. Then a reply came, accompanied by a cheerful ding: **“were at the new house. meet you halfway, or do you want to come here?”**

**“Meet u @ jackies apartmnt. Close 2 here.”  
**

**“got it on our way.”**

“C’mon, doc,” Chase muttered. “We’re moving on. You wouldn’t happen to know a back way out of here? I think it’d be weird to have you suddenly show up after so long.”

“What do you take me for, some kind of shady doctor? Though, of course, I must know a back way. So that I can keep an eye on the shady ones.”

“Well, let’s go then. No time to lose.”


	3. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are all back together after Schneep’s reappearance. After a short debriefing, Chase decides he needs to call someone

“He’s not answering,” Marvin told the others, looking up from the phone’s screen where he’d been repeatedly texting Chase.

Jackie paced the floor. “You don’t think something happened to them? I mean, I know it’s not exactly a long way from the hospital to here, but it’s long enough.”

“I’m starting to get a little annoyed with the lack of information,” Marvin grumbled. “‘Hey, by the way guys, our missing friend has reappeared. No need to know how or why, I’ll explain later.’ Now it’s later, and they’re nowhere to be seen and there’s no explanation.”

Jackie, Marvin, and JJ were all sitting in the living room of Jackie’s apartment. Or rather, JJ was sitting in the only armchair, while Jackie paced and Marvin leaned against the wall near the window.

The apartment was small, meant for only one or maybe two people to live in. Jackie’s crappy job meant he couldn’t get anything bigger, and it’s not like superheroing paid well. Still, Jackie somehow managed to fit a red sleeper sofa, a blue armchair, and a blue beanbag in the room, along with a coffee table that had comics and figurines strewn about on its surface. The dark red paint on the walls was nearly hidden behind countless posters. A modest kitchenette rested in the corner near the apartment’s door. Two other doors led to the bathroom and bedroom, and a rickety fire escape could be seen through the window.

 _Maybe you should try using the telephone for its intended use,_ JJ signed, _instead of fiddling with the buttons._

“I know for a fact that you appreciate texting,” Marvin pointed out.

 _But a persistent ringing will be harder to ignore than a short chime,_ JJ countered.

“Alright, fine, if they don’t show up in three minutes I’ll call Chase,” Marvin relented.

A few silent moments paced, broken by the sound of Jackie’s boots clacking against the wooden floorboards. JJ took a pocket watch out from his vest and stared at it. Marvin sighed and folded his arms. Then, the intercom buzzed. Jackie jumped, then quickly walked over to the spot on the wall and pushed the button to talk. “Chase, is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s us!” Chase’s voice came through the tinny intercom system. “Can you buzz us in?”

“How do we know it’s really you?” Marvin yelled across the small room.

“Um…I don’t know…do we need a test?” Chase sounded confused.

Jackie glared at Marvin. “I don’t think so.”

“Hey Chase, what’s your favorite color?” Marvin ignored the hero’s words, smirking at him.

An angry-sounding voice yelled something in a foreign language. “We do not have time for this! Press the button to buzz already!”

Marvin and Jackie exchanged looks of shock and relief. JJ looked confused and nervous. _Is that your friend?_ he signed.

Jackie nodded, then said into the intercom, “Alright, buzzing you up now.” He pressed the button.

* * *

Everyone got settled quickly. Schneep and Chase had collapsed on the sofa immediately upon entering the apartment, and Jackie had joined them with his personal first aid kit. JJ hadn’t moved from his spot in the armchair, but he now sat stiff and straight, and he kept glancing nervously at Schneep. Marvin had moved to the beanbag, but instead of relaxing he was on high alert, fidgeting with his wand.

“Schneep, bro, it’s so great to see you again, like, I would be jumping up and down with excitement right now if I weren’t worried the neighbors might complain about me,” Jackie said. “But what in the _ever-loving fuck_ happened? Chase, you answer too.”

Chase opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead he merely blinked a couple times before closing his mouth and looking down at his hands. Schneep scowled and said, “It does not matter. There are more important things to talk about. For example, who is this man?” He pointed at JJ.

“Stop moving around, I’m trying to figure out your injuries,” Jackie said, exasperated. “But fair enough. Schneep, meet Jameson Jackson. JJ, meet Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein.”

JJ waved, putting on a smile. It wasn’t hard to tell he was on edge.

Schneep narrowed his eyes. “You look familiar to my eyes…”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we all look pretty similar,” Marvin jumped in. “We’re all each other’s doppelgangers, now let’s move on. Where have you been? How are you back? I mean…if you want to talk about it.”

Schneep looked around at the others. “…how much do you know?”

Marvin blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Chase, he told me that you have all had encounters with that—that thing that looks like he came out of a broken video game. But how much do you know about him?”

The four others exchanged looks. Marvin and JJ silently gave Jackie looks of ‘you tell him.’ “Well, we know his name, and we know not to say it,” Jackie said slowly. “We know he needs a host, and he wanted Jack for that. He was the one behind Jack’s throat on Halloween two years ago. And he tried to attack him again, but you intervened and saved Jack back in August.”

The doctor’s expression flickered a bit at that, but he said nothing.

“And most of all, we know he’s all about fear and pain and is generally a terrible fucking person, if he’s even a person,” Jackie finished.

“Also, we’re all on his shit-list now,” Marvin added.

Schneep nodded. “Ah yes, that that all sounds correct. Chase, would you like to explain further?”

Chase looked around at the others. “I—” The single syllable came out sounding strangled and choked. He took a deep breath, then rushed out the explanation. “I didn’t want to do it but he came to my house last night and told me he had the kids and if I ever wanted to see them again I should do what he said so I went to the hospital—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Marvin held up his hands. “Slow down. An—he took Bobby and Trevor?”

Chase nodded. The others could see the tears in his eyes. “Yes.”

JJ frowned. _How do you know he was telling the truth?_

Chase stared at him. “What do you mean?”

 _He could have been lying,_ JJ signed hesitantly. _If you went through with whatever he wanted, and it turns out your little ones were fine the whole time, he easily could have used that to make your mental state even worse._

“I…that didn’t even occur to me…” Chase was shocked. What if he _had_ done it, and for nothing? What would that have done to him?

“I think we would need to check, then,” Schneep said. “Chase, as much as it hurts, you are going to have to call your ex.”

“Wait, Schneep, you read sign language?” Marvin asked.

“Of course I can, I am qualified doctor,” Schneep waved it away. “But I think that is most important, to check on Chase’s family.”

“What about what happened to you!?” Jackie asked incredulously. “You disappear for nine months, in a situation related to this—this glitch bitch haunting us, then suddenly come back, and you’re all messed up, but you keep wanting to move on. I’m no doctor, but I know it’s not a good idea to bottle up all your emotions.”

“I can do all the touchy-feely scheiße later,” Schneep insisted. “I do not know myself how I am back, but I am. And is good thing I came back at this time, because Chase was in the middle of a crisis that I helped avert, and now I learn his kids are probably missing.”

“Jackie, there is an immediate danger here that we need to take care of,” Marvin said. “I thought you were supposed to be a defender of the innocent. You know, like children.”

The hero turned on him, ready to shout that _our friend is probably traumatized and denying it what is wrong with you,_ but he stopped. Marvin was staring at him sympathetically, as if to say, _I know, but he’s out of physical danger and there’s a chance the kids aren’t so we have to prioritize._ “…fine,” Jackie relented. “Fine. Fine. But we’re not done with this.”

“That is okay,” Schneep said. “Now can we decide what we need to do?”

“I should call Stacy,” Chase muttered. “See if Bobby and Trevor are safe or…not. Then I guess we could all go home.”

“Um, I’m not sure, but I think that most landlords have a problem with tenants who disappear without a trace for nine months and show no sign of coming back,” Marvin said. “So, uh, Schneep might not have a place to stay.”

“He can stay with me, I’ll have room now that JJ’s moving out,” Chase said. “What about you? The hotel’s probably gonna kick you out soon.”

“I can room with JJ, if that’s alright.” Marvin looked at the silent man, who responded with a mustache wiggle and an a-OK sign.

“Okay. Then…” Chase stood up. “I guess I have a phone call to make.”


	4. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase manages to call Stacy and ask if the kids are alright, but he gets some strange responses. The boys decide to go their separate ways, and Chase and Schneep find a surprise waiting for them at Chase’s house.

Chase had retreated to the bathroom. He hadn’t wanted to do this in front of everyone else, and it would’ve been weird to go in Jackie’s bedroom. He could still hear the others talking amicably through the door.

No use putting it off. he took out his phone and stared at the number on the screen for a few tense moments, before finally screwing up the courage and making the call.

It rang for a long time, long enough that Chase worried she’d see his number on the caller ID and ignore it. But the ringing stopped. “Hello?”

Chase took a shaky breath. “Hey, Stacy.”

Silence. Then, “What do you want, Chase?”

This was going better than expected. She didn’t sound angry, just oddly neutral. “I was just checking in. You know, seeing how things are going. How’re the kids?”

“You don’t need to ask that, do you?” Ah, there was the snappish, critical tone she usually employed. “You’ll get to see them tomorrow. You can wait until then.”

“I know, I just…you never know, you know?” Chase laughed nervously. He hesitated, then forced out the question. “Um, can I talk to them?”

More silence from Stacy, white noise stepping in to fill the void. “I don’t know, Chase, can you?”

“Wh-what?” Chase stuttered at his ex’s tone. It was unusually venomous, even for her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, what is it supposed to mean?”

“St-Stacy, did I…did I do something?” More than he normally did to offend her, he meant.

“You did a whole hell of a lot, Chase. _A whole hell of a lot_.” A click, then a dial tone. She’d hung up.

Chase just stared at the screen of his phone. He’d known this wasn’t going to go well. He’d known Stacy was going to be passive-aggressive at best, and blatantly hostile at worst. But this? What did it mean? What was she blaming him for this time? His mind raced as he thought through everything he could’ve done wrong in the last month. Was she upset that Bobby cut her arm up last weekend? That wasn’t really his fault, she’d just fallen in a thorn bush. But she’d done that because he hadn’t been watching her…

“Chase! Are you done?”

Jackie’s voice rescued Chase from his downward spiral. He shook his head, then pocketed the phone and left the bathroom.

Things had changed a bit. Marvin was rummaging in the kitchenette’s cabinets, JJ standing nearby. Jackie was standing, bouncing up and down nervously. Schneep was still sitting on the couch, but he’d switched his old doctor’s coat for one of Jackie’s old hoodies, a baggy blue one.

“Everything go okay?” Jackie asked.

“I mean, it could’ve gone worse,” Chase shrugged. “She didn’t yell or anything.”

“That’s great, but what about the kids? Are they okay?”

“I…don’t know. She didn’t let me talk to them, and I think she was, I dunno, implying they were okay? But she made some sort of weird comments. I think she’s mad at me for something.”

“She usually is,” Marvin called from the kitchenette.

“Ha ha yeah,” Chase laughed off the painful truth of that comment. “But I mean, something specific. Something she expected me to know about, but I have no idea what that could be.”

 _Should you go call on her?_ JJ asked.

“Call on…? Oh. No, I don’t think stopping by her house would do anything. She probably wouldn’t let me in,” Chase sighed. “I mean, tomorrow’s the start of the weekend. If I go over to pick up the kids and they’re not there, we have something to worry about. But that’s kind of wasting time if they _are_ missing…” Of course, that’s all he was. A waste of time.

As if sensing his thoughts, Schneep jumped into the conversation for the first time. “It is not wasting time, my friend,” he said. “Short of breaking into her house, there is not much to do, and I know you will not like to do that. You are letting this into your head when it should not be there. You have to have faith that you can fix these things.”

Jackie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, things are gonna turn out alright. We’re all gonna help you get Bobby and Trevor back. I can do some patrolling tonight, see if there’s anything suspicious. And maybe our magic men know something that could help too.”

Marvin and JJ looked at each other. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to scry, would you?” Marvin asked.

JJ nodded. _I know the theory. Never got it to work._

“That’s ‘cause really good scrying isn’t magick, it’s magic. Luckily, I can help with that. God, it would’ve been fucking helpful if I’d bothered to learn it myself, we wouldn’t have to go through some sorta teaching session. But anyway,” Marvin turned to Chase, “yes, I think we could help.”

“Good. Good. Good.” Chase repeated the word over and over, trying to convince himself. “I guess we all go home now?”

“Chase, you’re in _my_ apartment,” Jackie pointed out. “I _am_ home. And I would appreciate it if people, especially a certain cat magician, would _stop stealing my chips in my own home!_ ” He shouted the last part in Marvin’s direction, who loudly slammed a cupboard door several times in response.

Chase almost said something, but then he decided not to get involved in the weird mostly-friendly almost-fight going on between the two. “Schneep, you good with staying at my place?” he asked.

The doctor nodded, standing up. “Of course I am. I would have said if I wasn’t. Are we leaving now?”

“Better early than never, dude.”

* * *

The walk from Jackie’s apartment complex to Chase’s house in the suburbs wasn’t long, but to Schneep it felt like hours. He couldn’t lie—at least, not to himself—and say he wasn’t on edge, constantly starting at every little movement in the corner of his eye, or tensing up at every sound that was even slightly similar to the crackle of static. He stared straight ahead, not daring to look directly at Chase, whose face, unfortunately, bore a striking resemblance to _him._

“You’re walking funny,” Chase said.

“I do not know what you mean.” The reply came instinctively.

“C’mon, dude,” Chase sounded exasperated. “You always tell me it’s not healthy to bottle up my emotions. Well, now you’re just being a fucking hypocrite.”

“It is not same thing, Chase,” Schneep insisted. “I am just…putting things aside for later. It has worked for me for a long time now.”

“Yeah, you’re putting them in a little bottle,” Chase muttered. “And if you shove enough stuff in that bottle, sooner or later it’s gonna break. Explosively.”

On some level, Schneep knew he was right. If he kept going on like this, eventually everything was going to blow up in his face. The best way to deal with situations like this would be to talk to others about it. His friends were _right there_ , offering to listen. But how was he supposed to explain what he’d gone through? He’d been gone _nine months_ , and he hadn’t even known it until he finally escaped and saw the date on a newspaper. Of course, there was the chance that he hadn’t even escaped, and that _he_ was just giving him hope before he would immediately pull him kicking and screaming back into that dark place— 

Nope. Stop it. Put it away.

“Look doc, I won’t pretend to understand what happened,” Chase said. “I don’t think I could, without going through the same thing. But I’m here for you. Anything you need, just ask. Support, reassurance, whatever. Ask me to do something that’ll make you feel better or safe, and I’ll do it. It’s okay now.”

It wasn’t. It wouldn’t ever be.

Before Schneep could roll out another dismissal, his attention was caught by something up ahead. “Chase, are…are there police officers outside your house?”

Chase looked ahead. Sure enough, a police cruiser was sitting on the curb by his house, and there were a pair of people at his door, who he could only assume were plainclothes cops.

“Hey!” He broke into a run. Schneep grabbed onto his arm, simultaneously trying to slow him down and keep up. Ahead, the officers turned and looked at him.

“Would one of you happen to be Mr. Brody?” The taller, blonde one asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Chase answered. “What are you doing here? If you don’t mind me asking.”

The shorter, dark-haired one responded. “I’m Detective Malcolm Akela, this is my partner Lydia Bowman. We’re here to ask you some questions about the disappearance of Roberta and Trevor Brody, your children.”


	5. This is the Police

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids are for sure missing, and Chase is the number one suspect in the eyes of the police. The boys have to scramble to piece together a way to get the kids back.

“Are you two gonna head home anytime soon?” Jackie asked, exasperated.

Marvin, lounging on the beanbag, looked over at JJ. “I dunno, you ready to go back yet?”

JJ, who was standing near the window and staring out, shrugged. _I’m good to go at any moment. Just waiting for you, my good man._

“I’m comfortable, dude, might as well stay a bit longer.”

Jackie sighed. Marvin was a great friend, fun to be around and also one hundred percent ready to defend the others at any cost. But sometimes the hero thought he existed for the sole purpose of annoying the shit out of him.

A loud, banging knock came from the door, causing everyone to jump.

 _Were you expecting anyone, Jackie?_ JJ asked.

“I don’t think so…” Jackie frowned.

More banging. “Open up, police!”

“Are you fucking kidding?” Marvin sat straight up. “Did we do something? I don’t think we did anything. JJ, did we do anything?”

The silent man shook his head, but Jackie could see the doubt on his face. “Maybe they found my location?” Jackie suggested, knowing that wondering about doing crimes was not good for JJ’s health. “I mean, it’s not exactly legal to dress up in a red suit and beat up criminals.”

 _Bang bang bang._ “This is your last warning. Open up, or we’re breaking down the door.”

“Oh, jesus. Hang on!” Jackie quickly crossed the room to the apartment’s front door, opening it to reveal three police officers. “What seems to be the problem, officer? It can’t be anything worth breaking the door down. That shit’s expensive to replace, you know.”

The cop in front, a tall, dark-skinned man, answered. “We need to come in, sir.”

“Uh, d’you have a warrant? Or probable cause?” Jackie knew a bit about police work, and he wasn’t about to let them in when there was reason to refuse.

A female cop in back spoke up. “He looks like the guy, Beaton. Just in better shape and longer hair.”

“ _Who_ do I look like?” Actually, Jackie knew of six other people he looked like, two of whom were still in his apartment, but he needed specifics.

“What’s your name, sir?” The first cop, Beaton, asked.

“Uh, Jackie. Jackie Parker. I have an ID, if you wanna check. But I would still like to know why you’re here.”

“Fifteen minutes ago, somebody in this apartment made a call,” Officer Beaton explained. “This call went to one Stacy Davidson, whose children went missing two days ago. The caller is a suspect in the case.”

“Wait…are you talking about Chase?” Jackie had to fight hard to keep his expression surprised and nothing more. So Bobby and Trevor really were missing? What happened? Actually, they all knew what probably happened. He got a sick feeling in his stomach just thinking about it.

“Chase Brody was the name, yes. He a friend of yours?”

“Yeah, he was here not too long ago. But he’s gone now.”

“We still have to check, Mr. Parker. And we have to search for the children as well. If you don’t mind…”

“Uh, yeah. Sure, okay.” Jackie stepped aside, and the cops entered the apartment. Marvin and JJ, who had certainly heard every word, had moved to standing beside the couch, and observed the proceedings with wide eyes.

“What are you, triplets?” muttered one of the cops.

“This is no time for jokes, Alvirez,” Officer Beaton reprimanded. “You and Cameron search the place. I’ll talk to these two.”

The two cops nodded, splitting off into the bedroom and bathroom. Jackie sidled over so he was standing between his friends and Beaton. He didn’t really think the policeman would hurt them, but you never knew. Crooked cops were everywhere, and it was better to be safe. Marvin and JJ subtly shifted so they were standing even closer to each other.

“Alright,” Officer Beaton said. “I’m going to assume neither of you are Mr. Brody, but considering how all three of you look eerily similar to him, I’m going to need some sort of identification.”

“That’s stupid,” Marvin muttered. JJ and Jackie gave him discreet looks of _are you crazy do you want to get arrested?_ and the magician sighed. “But okay.” He reached into his jean pocket and withdrew a wallet, taking out a driver’s license and handing it over. Jackie did the same, using his work ID.

“This driver’s license is very expired,” Officer Beaton said. “But you’re clearly the guy in the picture. Marvin Moore, huh? Sounds familiar…”

“Yeah, I had my fucking fifteen minutes of fame a while ago,” Marvin drawled, rolling his eyes.

“Whatever. And you,” Beaton looked at Jackie, “seem to be who you say you are.” He turned to JJ. “Your turn, sir.”

Problem. JJ had absolutely no legal documents. Kinda hard to get identification for a man from the 1920′s. Swallowing nervously, JJ signed, _I must’ve forgotten my ID at home._

“What the…?”

“Jameson can’t talk,” Jackie hastily explained. “He’s saying he left his ID at home. That’s okay, right?”

“Assuming he didn’t drive here,” Officer Beaton muttered. “I think I could let this one slide.”

The other two cops reemerged. “Nothing, Beaton.” “Big negative here, boss.”

“Okay, looks like you three are off the hook.” Officer Beaton gave Jackie and Marvin their IDs back. “I’d be careful around your Brody friend, though. It’s never a good sign when the guy you’re hanging out with is suspected of kidnapping.”

“Chase is the nicest, funniest, most kind-hearted guy ever,” Jackie defended. “Whatever’s going on, I’m one hundred percent sure he’d never take his own kids by force.”

“Still, be careful. We’ll be on our way now.” The three cops left, closing the door behind them.

The three exchanged worried looks. “I think we should check on Chase,” Marvin suggested.

* * *

Currently, Chase was freaking out. Not only were his kids missing, not only were they under the control of a murderous glitch demon, not only were they being used to blackmail him into killing his best friend, but just to rub salt in the wound, he was the number one suspect for their disappearance. It wasn’t like he could tell the police “hey, _I_ didn’t kidnap Bobby and Trevor, this weirdo reality-breaking doppelganger did!” Actually, that would probably make them even more suspicious of him. He’d end up in a psych ward.

So there was nothing he could do except let the detectives into his house, wait for them to get comfortable, then sit down and try not to look like his insides were being squeezed by an invisible fist of anxiety. Schneep hovered awkwardly in the corner, looking back and forth between Chase and the detectives.

“So, uh, you dudes gonna question me? Or something?” Chase asked.

“That is our job, after all,” said the taller one, Detective Bowman. “But you don’t have to worry.” That did not stop Chase from being worried. “When was the last time you saw your kids?”

“Uh, the 27th, 28th, and 29th. They were over for custody weekend. Their mom came over and picked them up Sunday night, and I haven’t heard from them since.”

Detective Akela jotted something down in his notebook. “And you didn’t see them at all during the week?”

“No, sir.”

“Hmm…” the detectives didn’t look convinced. Akela continued, “The mother, Stacy, told us that the kids had been staying up late at night, talking to someone. When she asked them about it, the daughter refused to answer, while the younger son admitted they’d been talking with their father. You.”

 _Shit._ “Well, I dunno what to tell you. I mean, Trevor does have quite an imagination. Maybe he was just missing me?” Or maybe the two of them had actually been chatting with someone who looked eerily similar to Chase.

“According to Stacy, this had been going on for about two months, but increasing lately,” Bowman added. “You’ve had no contact with your kids during that time period?”

“Apart from custody weekends, no.”

Akela made another note. “Can you explain why you and your wife had a divorce?”

Chase felt a jolt somewhere deep in his stomach. “Uh, w-well, um…” he cleared his throat. “It-it was her decision. I can’t know what was in her head, but, I think she didn’t…she wasn’t…she didn’t like my job. And I mean, uh, we did kinda get married young. Maybe she thought she was…” Wasting her life. “…missing out.” And she didn’t want to be stuck with a useless, drunk bastard who couldn’t do anything for her or the kids even though he loved them more than life itself.

The detectives exchanged glances, having some sort of silent conversation. “Did you feel cheated, at all, when the court decided you could only see Roberta and Trevor on the weekends?” Bowman asked.

“I mean, yeah, it sucked, but I couldn’t do anything about it. And I’m glad I still get to see them at all.” Chase swallowed nervously. “But you have to believe me when I say I’d never try and—and steal them. I’m not that kind of person.”

“If you say so, Mr. Brody,” Bowman said. She did not sound convinced at all.

“Ihr wisst nichts über elternschaft.”

Chase jumped. He’d completely forgotten Schneep was in the room until he heard that muttered phrase. The detectives had apparently forgotten too, as they turned to look at him. “And who might you be?” Bowman asked, a little rudely. She’d apparently picked up on Schneep’s impertinent tone.

“I am Doctor Henrik von Schneeplestein, a good friend of Chase,” he explained. “And you are being very rude to a person you know nothing about.”

“We’re merely doing our job, sir,” Akela sounded like he was trying to stop the conversation before it could go any further.

“Then you are doing it badly. You should know no parent in their right mind would take their own child when they are perfectly happy where they are. Why are you even having this conversation? Chase shouldn’t even be an option for suspect.”

“We have to consider everyone,” Bowman said, gritting her teeth. “You’d be surprised what people are capable of.”

“I very much doubt that. But Chase is not able to do anything you think he is capable of doing. Maybe you should find more about your suspicion people before you blame them for things they would never do.”

“I think we’ve found out everything we need to.” Akela stood up, giving his partner a significant look. Bowman glared at Schneep one last time before also getting to her feet.

“Well, uh, thanks for coming over and…letting me know about Bobby and Trevor,” Chase said. “Can you keep me in the loop? I want to know when they’re safe.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Brody, we will,” Akela assured him. “We’ll be on our way now.”

“Good day,” Bowman said curtly.

As soon as the door shut behind the detectives, Chase stood up and turned to Schneep. “Well, there’s no denying it now,” he said. “He has them.”

The doctor sighed, and leaned against the wall. It was like his anger at the detective had given him temporary strength, which drained away the moment they were gone. “Yes, it would seem so. He may not hurt them, Chase. Not unless he finds out you are not doing what he wants you to.”

“Doc…I can’t take that chance. You know that. What should we do?”

“I…maybe…”

Chase jumped as his phone rang. Fumbling with his pocket, he pulled it out and saw Jackie’s name on the caller ID. He put the call on speaker and answered, “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Hi Chase,” Jackie sounded slightly panicked. “This is, uh, this is going to sound weird but a couple cops just showed up at my apartment looking for you—”

“Wait, really? A couple detectives were at my house. They said Bobby and Trevor were missing.”

“Yeah, the cops here said the same thing. They…uh, I guess you know they think you did it?”

“Said as much.” Chase took a deep breath. “What are we going to do?”

Silence for a bit. Then, “Okay, JJ just suggested he and Marvin do the scrying thing they mentioned earlier as soon as possible. Just see where they are, so we can try to get them back.”

“Sounds good—”

“Chase, wait.” Schneep jumped in. “Your kids are not the only ones in danger.”

Chase felt his stomach sink. “You mean Jack.”

Schneep nodded. “I think we need to wake him up, so he is able to defend himself.”

“You know how to do that?”

“Of course I do. I am qualified doctor.”

“We can split into teams,” Jackie said on the other end of the line. “Marvin, JJ, and me are gonna head to the new house, try to find the kids. You two go back to the hospital, try to wake Jack up.”

“Sounds like a plan. Call you on any updates?”

“Yep. Good luck.”

“You too, dude.” The phone call ended, leaving a dial tone in its wake. Chase sighed. He hoped this would work. He didn’t want to think of the consequences of failure.


	6. Magic Solves Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin undertakes the task of finding Chase’s kids, but that’s interrupted when he’s called to help at the hospital. Magic backfires, and everything ends with a sudden realization.

The dining room clock read 1:08. It was hard for Marvin to believe it was still so early in the day. In the space of about an hour, Schneep had returned, they’d discovered that Anti had taken Chase’s kids, and the whole group had attracted the police’s attention in the bad way. Now they had to find the kids and wake up Jack before anything bad could happen to either of them. It was pretty overwhelming, actually.

He still found it weird how JJ’s house had two separate rooms for the kitchen and the dining room, instead of the combination-type thing most modern houses had. But whatever. It worked. Currently, Marvin and Jackie were sitting at the wooden dining table, waiting for JJ to come back. Jackie was leaning back in his chair, peering through the doorway into the kitchen, hoping to keep an eye on their silent friend. Marvin was staring aimlessly at the pale blue wallpaper, tracing the pattern with his eyes.

 _Bang._ Marvin jumped, already reaching for his wand, only to see that Jackie had tilted his chair back too far and fallen over. “Ugh. Ow,” the hero groaned.

“You asked for it, you fucking moron,” Marvin muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Shut up and help me up.”

As Marvin pulled Jackie to his feet, JJ poked his head through the doorway. Observing the scene, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Jackie’s an idiot, but he’s okay,” Marvin explained. “You ready yet?”

JJ stepped into the dining room in answer. He was holding a ceramic bowl out in front of him with both hands, a leather-bound book tucked beneath one arm. Carefully, he walked over and set the bowl on the table’s surface.

Jackie leaned over and looked into the bowl. “Water?” he frowned. “I don’t get it. Is it, like, special magic water?”

JJ placed the book next to the bowl and signed, _You need liquid or crystal in order to scry. Seeing as how we don’t have the time to go out and purchase a crystal ball, water is our best shot._

“Okay…” Marvin pulled the book toward him. “What about this? Instructions?”

JJ nodded. _Page 239._

Marvin flipped through the old, yellowed paper until her reached the page mentioned. The spell looked simple enough. It wouldn’t even take that much energy. But he still spotted a problem…

“You do realize we’re on a time crunch, right?” Jackie asked, breaking Marvin’s concentration.

The magician scowled. “You can’t rush spells. Things could go very fucking wrong very fucking quickly if anything gets messed up.”

 _I like being thorough as much as the next person,_ JJ signed, _but Jackie is right. We need to hurry. Just start and I’ll correct you if you stray off the beaten path._

He hated skipping out on instructions, but Marvin had to admit they were right. “Okay, but there’s a catch. It says we need something that belongs to the person we’re scrying for. And I dunno ‘bout you guys, but I don’t feel like breaking into Chase’s ex’s house to steal his kids’ things. That probably wouldn’t look good to the police.”

 _It’s recommended that we use something like that, but from what I know the spell can work just fine without it,_ JJ explained. _It just won’t be as powerful._

“You sure?” Marvin asked. When JJ nodded, he sighed. “Okay. Here goes nothing.” Glancing at the book once more, he pulled on his mask and grabbed the bowl, moving it closer to him. He stared into the rippling water, taking slow, deep breaths. This wasn’t the kind of magic he was used to. There wasn’t any incantation-speaking or wand-waving. Just concentration and power of will, shaped by magic.

Marvin felt a slight tingle in his fingertips and a pressure behind his eyes. The liquid in the bowl started swirling of its own accord, slowly turning green like dye spreading through a glass of water. Marvin inhaled deeply, letting the breath out slowly. This was the part where he was supposed to focus on the person he was trying to find. It was lucky that he’d met Chase’s kids before, otherwise they’d have to find another way to do this. He brought up memories of times when he’d been staying at Chase’s house the same time as the kids. Bobby was seven. She took after Chase in looks, but not in temperament. She was a bit grumpy and prickly, but she cared deeply about her family, especially her little brother. Trevor was only five years old. Very hyperactive. He was never able to sit still, always needing to fiddle with something in order to concentrate.

At this point, Marvin couldn’t have looked away from the bowl if he tried. His eyes remained fixed in place, unable to even blink. The water was completely green, glowing bright and whirling furiously in a downward spiral, but never spilling over the edge despite the violent swirling. He was dimly aware of JJ and Jackie leaning closer, peering over his shoulders, but he couldn’t afford to break concentration. He felt the magic pulsing up and down his arms, connecting his mind to the scrying bowl.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The water turned unnaturally still, unnaturally quickly. It seemed to clear, and Marvin saw his reflection, JJ on one side and Jackie on the other. Then, the reflection changed and warped, transforming into a scene that faded into a glowing green background like an old-fashioned vignette. The three stared down at a black-and-white image of a narrow alleyway, trash piled against dirty walls. The picture kept flickering, changing focus, _glitching_. Two small figures were stumbling through the small gap, the taller one leading the shorter one by the hand. They seemed to be in a hurry, but didn’t have the energy to run. They kept looking behind them. There was a shadow on the wall behind them, the silhouette of a man following them.

The image broke, splintering into many pixels. Marvin lurched backwards as something seemed to force him away. The bowl shattered, ceramic pieces and water flying outward. Fortunately, all of them were fast enough to protect their faces from the sharp projectiles.

“What the fuck was that?” Jackie asked, stunned.

“I don’t know Jackie, what else _could_ it have been?” Marvin snapped.

“But are they safe? I mean, they weren’t in, like prison or anything.”

 _Maybe they gave him the slip,_ JJ suggested hopefully.

“I doubt that somehow.” Marvin chewed his lip in thought. “This is part of a plan.”

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted their speculating. Jackie dug into his hoodie pocket and checked the caller ID. “It’s Chase.” Surprised, he accepted the call. “What’s up?”

Marvin could actually hear Chase’s frantic voice on the other side. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down,” Jackie said. “Do we need to meet up with you?” More panic on the other end. “Okay, okay, we’ll be there. See you.” Jackie hung up.

“So…what’s the problem?” Marvin asked.

* * *

“ _He won’t wake up!?_ ”

“That is what I said!”

The hospital room was crowded with five people crammed inside with a bunch of medical equipment. The equipment wasn’t originally in the room, but Chase and Schneep had sneaked all the necessary items for reviving a person in a coma. After all, it’s not like they could tell the hospital staff that they needed to wake up one of the patients. They would ask why, and if they explained that he was possibly in danger because a creature that looked exactly like him wanted him dead…well, it wouldn’t be good.

“Schneep, are…are you one hundred percent sure that you’re doing this right? “Jackie asked tentatively. “I mean, if hospitals could wake up people in comas, there’d be a lot less comas around.”

The doctor shook his head. “This is different, Jackie. Back—” he broke off, cleared his throat, and continued, “Back when it was clear to me that Jack was not going to make it out of the surgery alive, I induced this myself, to keep him out of _his_ hands. That is sometimes done on the operating table under normal circumstances. I am aware of the steps needed to undo it. But n-nothing is wor-working.”

Chase, nervously twisting his hands as he stood by the be, jumped in. “Why did he want Jack dead anyway? I thought he wanted a new host.”

 _A physically weak host is easier to control,_ JJ explained. _He might be able to force his way in for a brief time, but he can’t maintain that for long. He needs some sort of weakness to get in, the more severe, the better._ A pause. _Or, he could have changed his mind and decided to get rid of him._

Schneep frowned. “What are you talking about? How do you know these things?”

“So, what do you need us to do?” Marvin said hastily. “We’re not doctors.”

“No, but you have magic, Marvin,” Schneep said. “I think it might succeed where I have failed.”

“I…I’m flattered, Schneep, but I have no idea how to wake someone up,” Marvin couldn’t mask the shock in his voice.

“You can figure something out,” Schneep shrugged. “Is not too difficult to do.” 

“Maybe winging it is good for some things, but not magic,” Marvin said through gritted teeth. “I’ve already said this today, but making up shit as you go can have serious consequences.”

“Well, do we really have a choice, Marvin?!” Chase yelled in an uncharacteristic burst of anger. “Yeah, we could wait for you to go find a coma-waking-up spell, but by the time you’ve done that Jack could be dead! Bobby and Trevor could—” he stopped, hands clenched in fists by his sides. “Just—you gotta just try.” His voice was choked with sadness and trembling with fear.

Jackie and JJ gave Marvin identical imploring looks. The magician sighed deeply. “Okay, okay, I see your point.” He walked over to the side of the hospital bed, pulling on his mask again. “But don’ say I didn’t warn you.”

Sometimes, Marvin hated that he was the only one of the group with magic. It meant he was constantly being called on for things like this. Of course, he wasn’t going to refuse. But he’d like some sort of help sometimes.

Looking down at Jack, he took a deep, steadying breath. Maybe…maybe if he modified some sort of psychic spell. He wasn’t too good at those, but seeing as how a coma was mostly a mental thing, it seemed like the best shot. “Vityo qoid tuer vid ies…” he muttered. “Ego tuer psyk uto…”

The words called to the magic, no wand needed. Marvin felt the familiar snap of sparks between his fingers, and saw green at the edge of his vision. Normally, you’d need eye contact for psychic spells, but that was impossible when one of the participants was in a coma. So instead, he placed his hand on Jack’s forehead, pushing the spell out through his fingers into Jack’s mind.

**flashes of a strange place…**

**terror and horror in equal measure…**

**running from monsters in a maze of corridors…**

Marvin shuddered at the images. Was Jack having nightmares? No matter, he had to continue. He could feel the others’ eyes on him. But…now what to do? There were spells to put someone to sleep…maybe he could reverse them… “Imreud, niam e vijel aoré facsi’atys…”

**Go ahead… tr̛y to fall asleep̶…**

**Go ahead…try to w̵ake͢ hi̴̷͞m҉͏̕ up͢…**

This was wrong this was wrong this was wrong. Static was crackling an overlay in front of his vision and there was an awful frantic beeping coming from somewhere. Somebody was laughing laughing laughing at him. The spell was being turned against him but he couldn’t stop it he could see the swathes of green and purple magic leaking from his hands but he couldn’t stop them—

Somebody grabbed his wrist, trying to break contact with Jack. Marvin looked away from his comatose friend to see who it was but there was only a vague outline made of static. Then, with a sudden, electric _snap!_ his hand was wrenched away. Magic sprayed across the hotel room, painting the walls in dark green and purple. Marvin collapsed. He would’ve fallen to the floor if he wasn’t being held upright by whoever managed to stop the corrupted spell.

“No! No!” Three others were running around the room, but Marvin saw them only as shadowy figures. Someone was yelling something about vitals as if through a long tunnel. Someone else responded, saying something about blood…

As the scene became more clear, Marvin pushed away from whoever was holding him. He blinked away the darkness. Jackie was standing in the room’s doorway, peering outside, frantically looking left and right to see if anyone had noticed what went down. Schneep was standing nearby, reading the green text on a heart monitor. Chase was on the other side of the bed, looking like he very much wanted to grab Jack and shake him awake but was also scared he would break him apart if he did. Marvin looked down at the comatose man; Jack’s eyes were bleeding, red flowing like tears. He turned around and saw JJ staring at him, half-reaching out in case he collapsed again.

“Thanks,” Marvin mumbled. JJ smiled and wiggled his mustache.

Jackie closed the door to the room, turning to the others. “I don’t think anyone noticed.”

“Wh-what was that?” Chase asked. “Was that him?”

“Yeah, no fucking shit, Chase,” Marvin growled.

“But, I-I mean how’d he do that?”

“I think…” Marvin hesitated, getting his thoughts together. “I think he hijacked the coma somehow.”

“This isn’t time for puns, Marvin!” Jackie yelled, frustrated.

“I didn’t—” the magician sighed. “Look, it’s the best word for it. I saw into Jack’s mind when I was trying to wake him up. He was-was having terrible nightmares. And I heard _his_ voice…he wanted Jack to stay in the coma.”

With a cry of frustration, Schneep pushed over the heart monitor. It crashed to the floor. “Is nothing safe anymore?!” he shouted, voice cracking. “Why must we always fall to An—to him and his…his sadistic tendencies?! One time I try and do something right and he takes it and ruins it an-and poisons it!”

“Henrik, no…” Jackie said in a soft voice. “This isn’t your fault.”

“You do not know that, my friend.” Schneep’s voice was raw. “If-if someone else had been there…if I had been able to fight him off…this wouldn’t be happening!”

“Doc, you can’t seriously be blaming yourself,” Chase said, shocked. “You’re not the same as him. You never tried to hurt Jack.”

Schneep was silent at that. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned heavily against the wall. Marvin, Jackie, and Chase all exchanged looks. They’d seen their friend despair before…they’d even seen him blame himself before, when a patient on the operating table was lost. But this? This was something else, a whole new level.

JJ, perhaps being the only stranger in the group when it came to Schneep, stepped forward. He put a hand on the doctor’s shoulder, intending to comfort him.

It had the opposite effect.

Schneep stiffened, then staggered away with a strange, strangled cry. He turned and faced Jameson. There was a burning in his eyes. A look of horror, betrayal…and recognition. “You,” he said breathlessly.

Jameson looked shocked. But not in a surprised way. More in a I-didn’t-expect-to-face-this way. But he wasn’t confused. Marvin shifted, hand straying towards his wand. “Schneep, what do you—”

“You!” Schneep scrambled away from Jameson, knocking over an IV and another monitor in the process. He looked around, frenzied, searching for something to defend himself as he continued to back away. “Did you not think I would remember!? Did you not think you would be discovered!?”

Jackie hurried to Schneep’s side. “Henrik, I don’t know what you’re—”

“ _It’s him!_ ” Schneep practically screamed the words. “The silent man! He works for Ant—for him! And you all are just letting him be here! Oh, you have been fooled, my friends, so dangerously fooled!”

“What? No, doc, you’ve got it all wrong,” Chase came over too, stepping between Schneep and JJ. “He’s not what you think he is.”

“Is he not? Or has he tricked you?” Schneep hissed. “I remember. I saw him that day we lost Jack. He was in the hospital, and he was in the observing room. He came after me.” The doctor looked nothing short of murderous. There wasn’t anything even remotely resembling a weapon in the hospital room, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t about to try and fight against this perceived threat. He steadied himself, and took a step forward.

Marvin drew his wand and pointed it at him.

Everyone froze.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend you don’t have a reason for this,” the magician said slowly. “I actually think you’re kind of justified. But you don’t know everything. So we’re all going to calm down and talk about this like reasonable people, damn it.”

Schneep said nothing, staring at the wand with wide eyes. He glanced over at Jameson, who looked away. “…fine,” he grumbled.

Then he bolted for the door.

Taken by surprise, Marvin barely had time to shoot a immobilize spell and miss before Schneep was out the door. “Shit!” Jackie cried. Chase probably would’ve said something along the same lines, but he was already on his way out. Jackie hesitated, looking over at Marvin and JJ to see if they were alright. JJ nodded, then gestured for Jackie to follow Chase. He did so, sprinting out of the room.

Silence.

“JJ…” Marvin said quietly. “Are you okay?”

Jameson glanced at him. He crossed his arms, looked down at his feet, and blinked rapidly. Then he signed, _I want to go home._

Marvin hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll go with you. I think…” Deep breath. “I think we need to leave this part to them.”


	7. A Change of Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a break from the drama with the main characters, the detectives start digging around, and find there’s some weird things in the boys’ varied pasts. Could it all be connected?

It was definitely a strange case. When Detective Lydia Bowman decided to take it on, she thought it would be open-and-shut, easy. The kids said they were playing with their dad when he came to visit, and then they disappear in the night. The mother, Stacy Davidson, had no grudges, nobody who hated her, and loved her kids. Clearly, that meant the dad had gone crazy with grief and taken them. There was even precedence: the father had previously tried to off himself, back at the beginning of the divorce, because he couldn’t stand to be away from his kids and wife. History of mental instability was usually a warning sign when considering someone a suspect for a crime.

But then, Lydia and Malcolm had gone to actually question the father (Chase Brody, what a ridiculous name), and he hadn’t seemed…unstable. Okay, maybe he wasn’t in complete control of his life, judging by the state of his living room, but Lydia didn’t think he was a criminal. Her instincts said he was just kind of sad. And when you’ve been a detective for as long as she had, you learn to trust your instincts.

The police station was bustling, as usual. The city was in the middle of a crime wave, and that crazy vigilante in red wasn’t helping, despite their good intentions. Massaging her temple where a headache was blooming, Lydia slid into her desk chair with a sigh. She pushed aside a pile of paperwork and stared at her partner, sitting at his own desk across from her. Malcolm was staring very intently at his computer screen. “So, there’s no sign of the kids,” Lydia said without preamble. “And I don’t think Brody took them. Call me crazy, but it won’t change my mind. Have we reached a dead end or have you found something?”

Malcolm glanced at her. “Actually, maybe,” he said. “That doctor dude? The one who was arguing with you?”

“Mm-hmm, yes,” Lydia’s tone was calm, but her expression darkened. “That doctor dude” had been very disrespectful when the detectives were only trying to do their job. Lydia absolutely hated people like that.

“So, naturally, upon being told his name was ‘von Schneeplestein,’” Malcolm rolled his eyes, “I had to check to see if that was even a real name. Just for shits and giggles, I plugged it into our database, and, well…” Malcolm turned his computer monitor around so his partner could see. The words “MISSING PERSON REPORT” were clearly visible across the top of the page.

Intrigued, Lydia leaned closer. “August 3rd of last year,” she muttered as she read, working through her thoughts.”Reported by one Jackie Parker. Vanished after an unsuccessful operation left patient in a coma. Unsolved…” She frowned. “But…we just saw him. He certainly didn’t look missing.”

“That’s what I thought!” Malcolm nodded vigorously. “And look—” he clicked over to the picture included with the report. “Same person, only wearing glasses and healthier-looking.”

“Okay…” Lydia leaned back. “So, are you saying Brody had something to do with this guy’s disappearance, and that’s why he was with him? But why? And how?”

“I dunno.” Malcolm turned the monitor back around. “Obviously, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There could be a very reasonable explanation, and we could be turning into conspiracy nuts. Still…I’m gonna run a facial recognition search. Just one. ‘Cause these guys are doppelgangers of each other, so things should come up for both.”

At that moment, a uniformed cop poked his head around the corner. “Sorry, Bowman, Akela,” he said. “But there’s a lady here demanding answers for her case. Name of Davis, I think.”

“Davidson,” Lydia sighed. “What perfect timing!” She pushed away from the desk and stood up. “I’ll go talk to her. When I come back, fill me in on the results of the search.” Malcolm gave her a thumbs up as she left.

Ms. Stacy Davidson was sitting on a bench in the foyer of the police station. Her curling, white-blond hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she still wore the red vest and skirt that was the uniform at the diner where she worked. She was clutching her purse tightly and tapping her feet, brown eyes darting left and right. She shot to her feet upon catching sight of Lydia. “Detective Bowman,” she trilled.

“Ms. Davidson,” Lydia nodded. “I was told you wanted to see me.”

“Yes, yes, you heard right.” Stacy was trying very hard to keep cool, but Lydia could hear the strain in her voice. “I just wanted to know if there are any updates. After all, this is a very important case, children don’t go missing often. It makes sense that, as the mother—”

Lydia cut off Stacy’s clearly well-rehearsed speech. “There hasn’t been any breakthroughs. We talked to your ex-husband, and we found nothing suspicious.”

“Really?” Stacy drawled disbelievingly. Then, catching herself, she rushed to say “I-I mean, I thought the evidence would tell the story.”

“What a child says usually isn’t very reliable. They’re very imaginative,” Lydia pointed out. “If Mr. Brody is hiding something, he’s unusually well-practiced at lying.” He _had_ been rather nervous, but he just discovered his children were missing and the police had their eye on him. Even as a cop herself, Lydia could understand where the nerves were coming from.

“Maybe you should do some digging? Isn’t that what detectives do?” Stacy said desperately.

“That’s what we’re doing, but nothing’s turned up.” Lydia considered asking Stacy about the strange doctor who shared her ex’s face. “You don’t think that somebody who merely _looks_ like your husband could’ve taken your children, masquerading as him?” She tried to ask the question as discreetly as possible.

“Oh.” Stacy scowled. “Well, there _are_ those weird friends of his. They all kind of look the same.”

“Really? How many of them are there?”

“Hard to say. I think there are…four? No…” Stacy bit her lip in thought. “No, a couple of them are gone, I think. Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know. There’s tw—no, three. Another one popped up a while ago. You’re saying one of them could’ve taken Bobby and Trevor?”

“We need to take everything into consideration. And we’re doing everything in our power to find your children. Now, if you would please, we have work to do…” Lydia tried to be as gentle as possible. Still Stacy huffed, before correcting herself with a smile and a nod. She turned and left, and Lydia sighed in relief. She was sure Stacy was a lovely lady, and she certainly cared for her kids, but she had a bit of an unpleasant streak covered by politeness, and she seemed determined to hate her ex. What did he even do?

“Please tell me you have a good solid lead,” Lydia muttered as she sat back down at her desk.

“Um…no?” Malcolm sounded very unsure.

“What d’you mean ‘um, no?’ How can you have an ‘um’ in this situation? You either have a lead or you don’t.”

“Well, I mean—okay, look, there were way more results than I thought there would be.” Malcolm gave Lydia a confused and exasperated look. “So, the first things that came up were YouTube videos. Apparently Chase Brody runs a channel called ‘Bro Average.’”

“Lame,” Lydia rolled her eyes.

“You don’t even know anything about it.”

“The name’s stupid. I can see why Ms. Davidson doesn’t like his job. What came up next?”

“I’m not done talking about YouTube yet. Because the next results were for a channel called ‘jacksepticeye.’ A gaming channel, as opposed to Brody’s trick shots. Run by a man named Jack McLoughlin. Nineteen million subscribers and counting. Seems like a nice guy, he’s donated to charity. Oh yeah, and he also looks eerily similar to Chase Brody. And knows him.” Malcolm turned the monitor around once again, showing Lydia a picture of two guys, both with brown hair dyed green, laughing at the camera. The _did_ look really, really similar. Could’ve been twins.

“So, I just asked Ms. Davidson if her ex has any friends who look just like him,” Lydia said slowly. “And she said yes, there were quite a few. Two apparently disappeared, though. And now there are three. Maybe one of them was the doctor. By any chance, has this Jack guy vanished mysteriously?”

“No, he’s still uploading YouTube videos and doing other stuff. But there’s more.” Malcolm clicked to the next page of results. “This comes from our own database. Recognize the name?”

Lydia squinted. “Jackie Parker? Wait…didn’t they report the doctor missing?”

“Yep. Apparently, Mr. Parker went to the police academy, but dropped out in his final year. See?” Malcolm clicked over to the academy’s enrollment form, filled out. Then over to the next page, highlighting a lack of a diploma. “Shame, too, he was near the top of his class.”

“And this guy also looks like…well, all the others!” Lydia half-shouted. “How many of them are there?!”

“At least one,” Malcolm said with a slight grin. “Next page is just medical news about the doctor, confirming that yes, his real name is actually Schneeplestein, but after that—you’re gonna love this.” Two more clicks brought the detectives to a screenshot from an online news site. The headline read “Magician Gone Mad! Misfire at Marvin the Magnificent’s Latest Performance.” Beneath the bold letters was a picture of a man in a tuxedo and a mask shaped like a cat, with bright green hair. Farther down in the article was another picture of him, revealing that he also looked like…well, everyone else in this godforsaken case.

“Hmm, drama.” Lydia tilted her head. “Nothing better than tabloids picking at celebrity’s reputations.”

“Actually, this is a credible source, has a printed paper and everything. Checked it.” Malcolm leaned forward. “This guy, this famous magician guy, had some sort of psychotic break when the effects at his latest show went awry. Security had to wrestle him to the ground. And then he went in for a psych eval, and you’ll never guess who did it.” Malcolm highlighted one line of the article.

“No way. No way.” Lydia gaped. “It’s the same dude. Nobody else has that name.”

“Yep.” Malcolm grinned triumphantly.

“…okay, I know it’s literally our job to put the pieces together, but I have no idea what this could mean. They must all know each other, but is that important to the case?”

“Haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Anymore carbon copies?”

“Nah, the next few pages are all from some conspiracy website. Apparently there’s a time traveler from the 1920′s who shows up every time there’s an unsolved murder. Interesting, but complete bullshit.”

“Now now, I thought we were supposed to be open-minded to every option,” Lydia teased.

“Not to time travel!” Malcolm threw his hands up in exasperation. “I mean, yeah, theoretically we could go forward in time, but that requires a shitload of energy that we don’t have right now, and certainly didn’t have in the 1920′s!”

“Alright, I’m just messing with ya,” Lydia laughed.

“I know, I know. It’s working, too.” He scowled, then sighed. “So…should we go talk to the father again? Maybe ask if any of his clone friends were hanging around the wife’s house the day of the kids’ disappearance?”

“Maybe we could head back to the house ourselves,” Lydia suggests. “Ask the neighbors again. I know none of them saw anything, but maybe time has jogged their memories.”

“Yeah…we could try out a few new questions.” Malcolm nodded, looking thoughtful. “And I’d like to find out more about this collection of look-alikes. I get the feeling they have something to do with this whole thing. Come on, let’s go.”

“Now?”

“Do you have anything better to do?”

“…no.”

“Then yes, now.”

As the two detectives gathered up their things, Lydia couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody—or something—was watching them. And she got the impression that the source of that feeling was the computer screen…which was now glitching between the results of the search like it was reading through the information all on its own…


	8. Wahnvorstellung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bottling up your problems never leads to anything good. A familiar environment, now changed, sets off a series of severe flashbacks.

“Henrik! Wait!”

“Doc, please!”

Schneep heard their cries and didn’t stop running. He didn’t want to hear any of their excuses. He didn’t want to calm down and go back to Marvin and that—that _other_ man, who was supposed to be named Jameson but how could that be possible how could it be when he’d _seen_ him that night with the glitch himself what was happening he didn’t know—

It took him a while to start seeing his surroundings again. He’d been running on adrenaline and a basic need to get somewhere safe, so he’d followed his instincts and fled to his hospital office. Or at least, what had been his office. The nameplate next to the door had been changed. Now it belonged to some doctor with an even more ridiculous name. Schneep glanced around. He’d managed to lose Jackie and Chase, but he didn’t want to risk seeing them. On impulse, he reached for the door and turned the handle. Surprisingly, the door opened without resistance.

The office inside could’ve been a movie set, it was so plain and bland. No, not even that. It was like a display in a furniture store. All the necessary items were there: desk, chairs, filing cabinets. But there was nothing personal. No coats draped over the coat hanger. No picture frames on the desks. No…nothing.

Schneep wandered over to the desk. It was so surreal to see this room stripped and empty. He wondered what they’d done with all his things. He knew he’d left a jacket on one of the chairs. And he’d had photos of his wife and kids, from before…what happened to them? Did the police take them as evidence? Did one of the others decide to keep them safe? Or did they just get thrown away? Logically, that was the least likely, but the doctor couldn’t shake the feeling that was exactly what happened.

The desk’s surface was clear. There wasn’t even any paperwork. There was a laptop computer open, its screen off. Instinctively, Schneep slammed it shut. Static screen…watching from the webcam…he didn’t want that.

It was only when he backed away from the computer that he realized his hands were shaking.

Nothing was safe. _He_ was always there, always watching. Schneep had hoped that once he got away he wouldn’t have to think about it ever again. That he’d just have to wake up Jack and then everything could go back to normal. Never mind that he knew this hope would never come to fruition. You can’t simply forget about everything that’s happened. But he wanted, at least, to be safe around his friends. But that just wasn’t happening, with Chase’s kids gone and that stranger here.

Maybe this whole thing wasn’t even real. Maybe it was just another illusion. Maybe Schneep would wake up any minute and be there, and he’d be laughing at him and the foolish dreams he’d fallen prey to—

No. Stop it.

But it didn’t work.

Maybe he’d really gotten away, but the others still weren’t there, and he’d been running around talking to himself, and when he tried to get help people wouldn’t even look his way because they thought he was crazy. Maybe the others had all been captured and he could hear them but their cries were being filtered through the hallucination. Maybe he was the one in the coma instead of Jack and this was all a dream caused by _him._

Maybe Jack was already—

“I think he’s in here.”

“But the door is locked.”

“He could’ve locked it behind him.”

“Doc! Are you in there?”

Somehow, Schneep realized he’d fallen to the floor. He didn’t know how or when it happened, and he couldn’t think clearly enough through the whirling in his mind. He didn’t bother answering the call.

“Actually, would he even answer? He’s kinda pissed off at us.”

“Well, okay, maybe not. You sure the door is locked?”

“Yeah. D’you think we should break it—”

_BAM!_

The door flew open. Jackie stumbled into the room, propelled by the force of the blow he’d used to break it down. Chase hurried forward to catch him before he fell. “Thanks,” Jackie mumbled. “Now…Henrik? Are you in here?”

There was no answer, but Chase nudged Jackie and pointed to an arm peeking out from behind the desk. The two of them exchanged worried look. “Trap?” Chase mouthed. Jackie shrugged, and jerked his head toward the desk. The two of them crept forward. On the other side of the desk, Schneep was curled up into a ball, one hand protecting his head like he was waiting for an attack that would never come, the other flung out like he was reaching for something.

“Doc? You okay?” Chase asked nervously.

There was no answer. Jackie hovered, unsure of what to do. He’d never seen his friend like this before. Mentally, he thought of all the various victims of crimes he’d met in his hero career. Was Schneep in some sort of shock? The behavior seemed to match a bit. Okay, what to do with people in shock? He wasn’t a professional in these matters, but maybe he could get Schneep at least mostly functional again. He knelt on the ground beside him and said in a quiet voice “Henrik? Henrik, we need you to answer.” Still no response. Chase gave Jackie another worried look.

Jackie made a small shush sound in Chase’s direction. He could handle this. Probably. Then he turned his attention back to Schneep. “Hey, Henrik? Schneep? Doctor Schneeplestein? We need to get out of here.” When there was still no response, Jackie leaned back and thought a bit more. Maybe there was something physically wrong. It wouldn’t hurt to check. “Henrik, I’m just gonna see if you’re alright, okay?” Jackie reached toward the doctor’s wrist, intending to start by taking a pulse.

The moment his hand touched Schneep’s, it was batted away. With a sudden lurch, Schneep sat straight up and forcibly _pushed_ Jackie hard enough to knock him over. The hero hit his head against the floor with a loud _clunk!_

“Jackie! Are you okay?” Chase rushed to the aid of his friend.

“’M fine,” Jackie grunted, rubbing the back of his head where it impacted the hard wooden floor.

Chase turned to Schneep. “Dude, what’s up with you? We’re here to help!”

That only seemed to make it worse. Schneep’s eyes widened, and he froze. Only for a moment though, which was broken by a sudden shriek that Chase didn’t immediately register as coming from Schneep. Partly because the shriek was followed by a frantic attempt to scramble away from Chase as Schneep crawled under the desk.

“Doc?” Chase leaned past Jackie and looked into the recess under the desk. “What’re you doing?”

“ _Get away!_ ”

Chase’s head whipped backward and a sickening crack shot through the air. He felt warm liquid trickling down his face, and a second later came the pain. “He hit me!” Chase said, astonished.

Jackie sat up. “I don’t think—I think something’s very wrong right now. With him. You okay?”

Chase touched the site of injury, causing a flare of pain. “I think he broke my nose.”

Jackie gritted his teeth. “Okay, normally I’m all for letting people work out their issues at their own pace, but we should at least get him out of this place. It might be making whatever this is worse. I know I’d be freaking out if I got stuck in my old office after so long away. So, as much as I hate to do this, I think force is an appropriate response. Nothing else’s worked. So on the count of three, you and I are gonna have to pull him out of there. Got it?”

Chase nodded, trying his best to wipe away the blood. They’d both hate to do it, but Schneep wasn’t making it any easier. “Alright.” Jackie took a deep, steadying breath. “One…two…” A brief moment of hesitation. “Three!”

They moved together, grabbing Schneep and desperately trying to get him out into the open. The doctor tried equally desperately to stay hidden, one minute trying to brace against the sides of the desk and stay rooted in place, the next flailing wildly, hitting every inch of the other two. Eventually, with determination and a fair amount of bruising, Chase and Jackie pulled Schneep away from his hiding place.

“ _Leave me alone already!_ ”

One solid hit landed against the side of Jackie’s head, jolting him enough to get him to let go. Chase had enough common sense to get in between Schneep and the desk before he could dart back underneath. Again, Schneep froze. There were tears in his eyes.

“Doc, come on, you gotta listen to reason here,” Chase pleaded.

“ _No!_ No more your reason!” He pushed and pounded at Chase. “I do not—you will not—I cannot do anymore!”

“Henrik, stop!” Jackie, having recovered his wits, acted quickly, wrapping Schneep up in a hug of death that pinned his arms to his sides. “Leave Chase alone!”

Schneep shook his head, looking from side to side. “Is not here. Is not here. Is you, do not lie.”

“Me?” Jackie frowned, confused. “Who…? I’m _Jackie,_ Henrik.”

“Is not. Is not. You are liar.”

“Who do you think…” Jackie trailed off as realization dawned. They _did_ all look similar, didn’t they? “Henrik, no, he’s not here! You’re not stuck with him anymore!”

“ _Stop lying to me!_ ” Schneep wailed. “I do not—I do not want—do not make me, please—”

“Don’t make you…what?”

“I do not want—they are my friends, I will not—I am doctor, I do not hurt—please do not—bitte nicht—”

 _Oh god._ “No, Hen, this—I’m not gonna make you—” Jackie looked to Chase for help, but he looked just as shocked. “We’re just gonna…get out of here,” Jackie muttered.

Schneep had no protest to that. He’d shut down, not moving, vaguely muttering things, switching back and forth between his two languages. In retrospect, Jackie realized it probably wasn’t the best idea to wrap up someone having a panic attack. But they had to fix that later. He wasn’t sure how thick the walls of the hospital were, but there was a chance that people had heard the shouting and were coming to check it out. With Chase being a suspect in a kidnapping, Jackie didn’t even want to think what this would look like.

“Chase, we’re going back to the apartment,” Jackie said. He stood up, bringing Schneep with him.

“I…okay.” Chase winced. A few of the doctor’s desperate punches had hit pretty hard. But he stood up without difficulty. “Why not my house?”

“Police may be watching. Probably already weird that you two left so suddenly, and then you come back and one of you’s catatonic. Also it’s closer. Can you just…” Jackie shifted his weight. “I mean, I’m pretty strong, but it might be good for him to have physical contact that’s not quite as…constricting.”

“Oh. Yeah bro, I’ll help.” Chase took one of Schneep’s arms and threw it around his shoulders. “God, what…is this our fault?”

“Maybe a little bit…” Jackie didn’t want to admit it, but it was true. “But I think…I think a lot of it is _his_ fault. He did…whatever it was that made Schneep this way.”

Chase nodded. “Is he gonna be okay.”

Jackie honestly didn’t know. But he couldn’t say that in front of Chase, who already had a hard time seeing the bright side. “Eventually.” He forced himself to put a touch of optimism into his voice. “Let’s go.”

As they left, Chase brought up a fair point: “Hey, how’d the door get locked? I don’t think he has keys anymore.”

“I…don’t know. But there’s no good explanation.”

Indeed, it felt like they were being watched the whole way home.


	9. The Witching Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ and Marvin have a serious talk in the middle of the night.

Jameson bolted upright, gasping silently. It took him a moment to remember where—and when—he was. He reached over, grabbing blindly in the dark until he was able to turn on his bedside lamp. With a simple _click,_ yellow light flooded the bedroom. He looked at the clock: 12:10 a.m. He looked at the calendar: May 2018.

When was the last time he’d had one of those nightmares? It had to be at least a month since a bad dream had woken him up. Or, not a dream exactly. A memory he’d rather forget. What happened with the doctor must’ve triggered a relapse. He could still hear his words… _He works for him! And you all are just letting him be here! You have been fooled, my friends, so dangerously fooled!_

JJ shivered, then got out of bed. He found that, on nights like these, it helped to walk around, just to be alone with his thoughts. To reassure himself that they _are_ his thoughts.

As he left the bedroom and entered the hall, he turned on all the lights. They were modern, electric lights, the sort of which that had only been mildly common back in his day. Their artificial glow, while helpful in ridding the house of shadows, made Jameson feel a vague sadness. He loved his new friends, of course, but he’d left so much behind. What ever happened to his old partner, who’d helped him behind the scenes? Or that kid who made toys, and wanted to be a part of the film business? Or his mother and father? They hadn’t been on the best of terms, but he still missed them.

He was halfway down the stairs when he realized there was a light already on. He stopped. He didn’t think it would be Anti. He was a creature of darkness. Still, that could leave any number of more conventional threats. JJ considered retreating back upstairs, but curiosity got the better of him. And there was no guarantee to be any danger. So he crept silently down the hall. The door to the parlor was ajar, and JJ peeked inside.

Marvin was there, slumped in one of the armchairs with his portable computer on his lap, eyes glued to the screen. His mask and wand were on a nearby table. All the lamps in the room were on, artificial illumination flooding their surroundings.

Relieved, JJ knocked on the door frame to announce his arrival. Marvin jumped, halfway to closing his computer when he spotted JJ standing in the doorway. “Oh, it’s just you,” he said, relieved. “Fuck, dude, don’t scare me like that. I didn’t even hear you coming down the hall.”

 _My apologies,_ JJ signed. He opened the door fully, entering the room. _If I may ask, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay at a hotel tonight._

“I thought about it, but…I dunno man, I just didn’t want any of us to be alone right now.” Marvin shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. The worry in his eyes gave him away. “You’re not gonna, like, kick me out, are you?”

 _Of course not!_ JJ reassured him. He didn’t want to admit it, but it would be kind of nice to know he wasn’t alone. _But why are you still up so late?_ Marvin was still wearing the same clothes he was yesterday, showing that he either hadn’t had the foresight to pack a pair of pajamas, or he hadn’t gone to sleep at all. Possibly both.

Marvin raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.”

JJ hesitated. His first instinct was to not bother his friend with his troubles, but Marvin—actually, all of the others—had repeatedly told him that if there was a problem they’d be happy to help. So he braced himself and signed, _I had another nightmare._

“Oh.” Marvin slumped. “I’m…sorry. Do you…want to talk about it?”

Jameson shook his head. _Not tonight. But I don’t want to go back to sleep. Do you mind if I stay in here for a time?_

“Not at all. It’s your fucking house, after all. Take a seat.”

JJ let out a sigh of relief, then sat down in the armchair next to Marvin’s. The magician stared at him for a bit. “You’re absolutely sure you don’t want to talk about it? I’ll listen.”

 _I know you will,_ JJ signed. _But this is…a difficult subject for me to talk about. It’s nice that you are open to it, but I don’t think…_ he trailed off, hands frozen in the air.

“I get it.” Marvin nodded. “I really do. Just making sure you know I’m here for you.” He glanced back down at the computer, presumably checking for glitches, before looking back up. “It’s been a while since you had one, huh. Do you think yesterday…set you off, or something?”

Jameson nodded. _The doctor. He seems like a kind enough person, but…he said some things to me._

“Schneep’s not kind,” Marvin muttered. “Or, well, okay, let me explain. He’s nice, and he really wants to help people, but to me, ‘kind’ implies being polite and doin’ good things in everyday life. And in that area, he’s sorta lacking. He’s not afraid to speak his mind, even if it might hurt others. Also he yells a lot.” Marvin shook his head. “I’m getting off topic. The point is, you shouldn’t let his words get to you. He’s been through hell, and he was just…I dunno, projecting his frustration onto you. It’s nothing to do with you.”

 _But it is, Marvin._ The sign Jameson used for Marvin’s name was rather simple, just the BSL “M” followed by the sign for cat. But using a name sign in personal conversation made the whole thing sound much more serious. _I_ was _there that night, when the doctor failed. I_ did _help…him. And I know it was not my fault, that I was just a puppet, but I can’t help but feel guilty._

Marvin remained silent for a long time, long enough to make Jameson nervous. But then he spoke. “That’s understandable. It’s probably like survivor’s guilt. You felt you should have done something, even if you couldn’t. And I…well, I can’t imagine going through what you did, feeling like that, for ninety years. But for what it’s worth, _I_ don’t think you’re…a bad person, or whatever your trauma is calling you, for not being able to stand up to him. And neither do Chase or Jackie. You did all you could, and you got fucked over for your trouble. That sucks. But you’re not the bad guy.”

Jameson folded his arms, hugging himself tight. He did feel a little better. Not completely one hundred percent better, but better. The doctor’s words still upset him, and he had the feeling he’d have to confront Schneeplestein directly to get over that. But for what it was…this was good.

 _Thank you, Marvin,_ he signed.

The magician smiled reassuringly. “No problem, dude. You ready to go to bed again?”

JJ shook his head. Marvin nodded, and returned to his computer. What _was_ he doing anyway? What were any of them doing when they were logged onto the Interwebs? On an impulse, he leaned over and looked at Marvin’s screen.

“Wh—no!” Marvin slammed the computer closed, but not before Jameson had time to see what exactly was on display. His eyes widened. Anyone else wouldn’t have recognized them, wouldn’t have known what type of spells those were. But Jameson did. He looked at Marvin, hoping for an explanation.

“You know what, I think I’ll go to bed myself,” Marvin laughed nervously. He stood up, holding the computer close to his chest, and made his way over to the room’s exit. Quickly, Jameson scrambled to his feet and ran in front of Marvin, blocking him. “Uh—JJ, dude, I know I’m usually a night owl but I’m pretty tired right now, y’know?” He sidestepped, only for Jameson to block him again. A second time, the same result. “Jameson, really, leave. Please.”

JJ shook his head, then made two simple signs. _Black magic?_

Marvin froze. “I…”

_Marvin, why are you looking up spells like that?_

“I—I mean, th-there’s—” he scrambled for an explanation. “With An—with him out there, I-I thought that we could, ah, use some more—some firepower, and these are really powerful spells, and—”

 _You’re better than that, Marvin,_ JJ signed sadly.

“I…no, I’m not.” The words were almost too quiet to hear. Marvin looked down. He didn’t want to see the look on JJ’s face when he explained. “I’m really not. I know that to you and Jackie and Chase I’m—I’m the magic man, the expert, the-the good to balance out _his_ evil magic—but I’m _not,_ JJ. I’m not a good person.”

JJ waved his hand in front of Marvin’s face, making him look up. Jameson wasn’t disappointed at all, but somehow that made it worse. He didn’t understand what Marvin was trying to tell him. Jameson raised an eyebrow, and signed, _What was that you were saying earlier, about me not being the bad guy? I’d hate to throw your own words back at you, but that’s exactly what needs to be done here._

Marvin was already shaking his head. “No, it’s not the same thing, JJ. You were forced to do terrible things. And even when you sought out the dangerous kind of magick, you never really wanted to use it, you just wanted to know. I—I’m not like that.” He swallowed nervously. He knew this would come out eventually—he didn’t want it to, but he knew—so it would be better to rip the bandage off. “Back when I first discovered magic, I wanted to know more. I wanted to _be_ more. And I didn’t have any noble reason for it, I wasn’t even simply curious. I wanted to be the most powerful, most famous magician out there. And when I found those spells, I read the warnings and everything, and _I didn’t care._ As long as it got me where I wanted. And I just kept going down, and down, and down, until I almost—I almost did something terrible, JJ. And I almost didn’t regret it. Do you—” he took a deep breath. “Do you honestly think that somebody like that could be a _good person?”_

There was no hesitation. JJ nodded.

Marvin blinked. “Did—did you even hear a word I said?”

He nodded again. _Look Marvin, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can’t change what you’ve done in the past. And the fact that you acknowledge your mistakes and want to improve means you are better than you think you are. And if I’m not allowed to berate myself, you aren’t either._

“I—” Marvin realized he was clutching his computer so tight that it was leaving imprints in his hands. He relaxed his grip a bit, and somehow that was the cue to start the breakdown. Suddenly there were tears coming from his eyes and his shoulders were shaking and JJ was hugging him gently. All he could do was bury his face in his shoulder and dully repeat through the sobs“I’m not—I’m not—” even though every time he tried to say the words he could feel JJ shake his head.

They stayed like that for a while, before Marvin finally pulled away. He blinked away the remains of the tears. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

JJ smiled brightly. _It’s no problem, Mr. Magician. I owe you for rescuing me in the first place, not to mention everything since then._

Marvin laughed. “By that logic, I still owe _you_ for letting me stay in your house for free. And since when have you called me—what was that? Magician?”

 _M-I-S-T-E-R Magician,_ JJ corrected, spelling out the word.

“Well, that’s even stranger then.” Marvin looked down and realized he was still holding his computer. “I think…I think I’m gonna put this away. I, uh, brought a duffel bag of my stuff and left in in your guest room. I’ll go put this there.”

JJ nodded, standing aside so Marvin could get past. He was going to go back to bed himself. It had been a long night, but they both came out of it feeling alright. It wasn’t perfect; JJ had the sneaking suspicion there was more to Marvin’s problem. But a start was better than nothing.

_Bang!_

JJ jumped. What was that? It sounded like it came from the front. He walked out into the hall and looked toward the entrance. There was the creak of the door opening.

_“WHAT THE FUCK?!!”_

He didn’t waste time in running down the hall and toward Marvin’s shout. He rounded a corner into the entrance, only to see Marvin staring, shocked, out the front door. He was holding something in his hand. He must’ve heard JJ’s footsteps, because he immediately turned around upon his arrival in the entrance. “Dude…” the magician said. “You’re not gonna fucking believe this…”

_What? It’s not anything bad, is it?_

“To the contrary, I think.” Marvin held out his hand, showing the thing nestled in his palm to JJ.

JJ, meanwhile, stumbled back in shock. _That’s not…?_

“It is,” Marvin nodded.

_We have to tell the others. Right now._

“Fuck that, we have to _show_ the others right now. Get dressed. They’re at Jackie’s apartment, so that’s where we’re going.”


	10. Rise and Fall and Rise Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schneep struggles with the aftermath of his breakdown. JJ and Marvin meet up with the others carrying urgent news and something important, but the police show up, and they’ve brought trouble with them.

Where was he? How did he get here?

He blinked a bit. There was a cloudiness to his thoughts. Not like static—just normal fogginess, like he’d just woken up. But he’d never gone to sleep.

The overhead light was turned on, full blaze. It showed him that he was in a bedroom, lying on the bed. There was a small window showing the night sky outside, and a shut door. The walls were covered in posters, and there were figurines and other various memorabilia on dressers and tables around the room. The whole place seemed familiar…

Schneep bolted upright as he was struck by memory. This was Jackie’s room, in his apartment. What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be somewhere else?

He stood up. His legs wobbled a bit, as they had been for too long now. Why was that? The reason flickered in his mind for a bit before he pushed it out. It wasn’t important. He had to remember how he got to Jackie’s apartment and why he was there. Maybe the hero himself was home, and could answer these questions. With a goal in mind, Schneep wandered over to the door and opened it, entering into the main living area of the apartment.

Jackie and Chase were there, Jackie on the sofa and Chase on the beanbag. Curiously, Chase was holding a bloody tissue to his nose. A box of leftover pizza was sitting on the coffee table, a few slices missing. The two of them had been talking, as evident by the sudden silence that fell the moment Schneep walked into the room. Both of them were staring at him with wide, worried eyes. “Um…hello,” Schneep said.

“Hi, Henrik,” Jackie said cautiously. “How are you feeling?”

“I am…confused,” Schneep admitted. “I do not remember how I got here.”

Chase and Jackie exchanged looks. “Do you…remember what happened at the hospital?” Chase asked.

Schneep frowned, casting back his mind. “We—we were trying to wake up Jack. We tried the normal way, but it didn’t work. So we called Marvin, and he used magic—” he faltered. There was something missing there. But it probably wasn’t important. “—but it also did not work. So—so then—so then—” Schneep struggled to remember. He knew things were missing. He knew they were important. Or were they? He would remember them if they were, wouldn’t he? “—I am sorry, that is all.”

“Oh…” Chase trailed off. He looked over to Jackie again, who in turn shook his head.

“Repression,” Jackie muttered.

“Excuse me?” Schneep said.

“I said you repressed what happened,” Jackie said, standing up and walking to Schneep, stopping and arm’s length away. “I guess it’s expected. Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier. But…well, it’s not healthy. And normally I’d ask you to get some professional help and work this out slowly, but we’re in the middle of a crisis right now, and…I don’t think any therapist would believe the truth. So…I’m sorry.”

Schneep took a step back. “Sorry for what?”

Jackie took a deep breath. His eyes were suddenly watery, so he blinked a couple times before asking, “Henrik…why did we need to wake Jack up?”

“I—he is in one of the deep sleeps, a coma.”

“Yes, but how did he get into the coma in the first place?”

“He—” Schneep shook his head. The memory was there, fleeting, but he couldn’t access it. Something was blocking it, like static—no, not like static, why on Earth did he think about that specific word? “Jack, he got sick. And I—I was trying to fix him, because I am good doctor. But—” Bits and pieces were coming back. Frantically trying everything he could to save his friend, injecting every drug he could, giving him oxygen, whatever would work. Panicking. “—but I failed and—and I had to put him to sleep. It was the only way.”

“Jackie…” Chase said. “Maybe this isn’t the best time for this.”

“Yeah, no, it’s definitely not,” Jackie snapped. Then he sighed. “It’s not. But with everything going on, when _is_ the right time?”

Chase didn’t have an answer for that. So instead he just slumped deeper into the bean bag and pulled his hat lower. The sight of his friend so sad…it triggered something in Schneep’s memory. “There is something about the kids, isn’t there?” Schneep said slowly. “That is what the crisis is.”

“Yes,” Jackie nodded. “That’s a good start. Bobby and Trevor are in danger. Do you remember what from?”

“…no.” Schneep folded his arms, seeming to shrink inward. “I’ve forgotten.”

“You haven’t,” Jackie whispered. “You’re just too afraid to remember. And I wish we could take our time with this, but we can’t. We have urgent matters. So, I’m just…gonna have to give you a nudge…I’m just gonna…” it sounded more like Jackie was trying to convince himself. He closed his eyes, composed himself, and asked, “Henrik…who was the other person with Marvin?”

“There wasn’t—”

“Yes, there was. Who was it?”

“There wasn’t—” Schneep cut off his own denial. There was an answer. He could almost feel it. He knew that when he called Marvin for help, Jackie and someone else had come too. Who was that last person? He’d seemed familiar. Schneep made a small sound of frustration, pressing his fists into his eyes in an effort to help his memory. This person…he’d looked familiar because he was another one of them: this strange group of friends who’d bonded over their similar faces…No, no he’d recognized him for reasons other than that. He’d seen him before…

And with a sudden flash, he broke through the wall he’d built protecting himself. He remembered, amidst the terror and dread of trying to save Jack, the breaking of reality like it was a faulty video game, the laughter of someone who looked too much like his friend, the feeling that he wasn’t in control anymore as he’d caught the infectious laughter and done exactly what _he_ had wanted—and from there, _everything_ came back.

He gasped, stumbling back, falling into the door frame and grabbing it for support. “Henrik—!” Jackie reached forward to help.

Schneep flinched. “No, please do not—”

Jackie froze. His hand dropped to his side. “I—okay. Okay.”

The doctor closed his eyes. “You were right. I did not want to remember.”

Footsteps. Chase’s voice, coming from nearby. “Doc? Henrik? Are you…going to be okay?” 

“What do you think, Chase?!” Schneep snapped, his eyes flying open. “I am not okay! I just—I do not know—” It was hard to explain. How could he tell two of his best friends that he’d thought they weren’t real? That he’d thought everything was just an illusion, because it had happened often enough during the course of nine months?

“I didn’t ask if you _were_ okay, I asked if you were _going to be_ okay,” Chase said quietly. “I mean—that breakdown you had in the hospital, we, uh, figured enough of what was going through your head. You did punch me in the face, cause you thought I was him. Don’t worry, my nose is pretty much alright now.” Chase laughed nervously. “Anyway…it’s pretty obvious you aren’t okay right now. But…will you be able to…not get over it, but…”

“You can’t understand.” Schneep noticed that he was shaking pretty badly. “I—Ant—he is—I was—I did terrible things—”

Jackie looked thoughtful. “You’re right. We can’t understand. But we’re willing to listen. And…I think there’s someone who you could talk to. Someone who would actually get it.”

Schneep looked over at the hero. Did such a person exist? “Who.”

“The dude you freaked out on,” Chase said. “JJ.” When Schneep began to shake his head, he pressed on. “No, listen, don’t say anything. I know you think that he’s some evil agent of _him,_ but he’s not. You were wondering how we all knew _he_ wanted Jack as a host? That’s because Jameson told us. He was…I guess you could call him Jack’s predecessor. He was the host before him. He was _used,_ for an insanely long time. And he feels awful about it. If there’s anyone else in the world who knows what it’s like to be stuck with _him,_ it’s JJ. So, if you won’t talk to us because we can’t understand, then talk to someone who will.”

Instead of immediately denying him like he wanted tom Schneep paused, and actually thought about Chase’s words. Anti was a master of hiding in plain sight. He could’ve placed an agent among them and fabricated this story to fool the others. But…Schneep could feel every little wound on his body, and could remember every single nightmare. If there was a chance, even the slimmest chance, that there was someone who could _relate_ to this? Maybe he would take it. And if it turned out that this Jameson was truly an agent of Anti, then Schneep would probably be able to tell. He’d take it slow.

A buzzing sound broke the moment, causing all three boys to jump. “It’s just the intercom,” Jackie sighed. “I got it.” He walked quickly over and pressed the talk button. “Hello?”

“Uh, hi, all three of you guys are there, right?” Marvin’s voice came through the crackly intercom.

“Uh…yeah…” Jackie said hesitantly. There was something about this…Marvin sounded pretty anxious. “What’s the problem? I’ll remind you it’s the middle of the night and we’re all tired.”

“Doesn’t stop you from being awake,” Marvin said. “Look, something showed up at JJ’s house, and you really, _really_ need to see it, so can you buzz us in?”

“Two questions. One: are you both here? Two: is it bad news? ‘Cause you sound nervous.”

“Yeah, we’re both here,” Marvin confirmed. At this, Jackie and Chase both gave Schneep a look of hey-this-is-an-opportunity-to-work-through-your-issues, which the doctor responded to by scowling and giving them a this-is-my-problem-please-stay-out-of-it look. “And no, it’s not bad news,” Marvin continued. “But, ah…bad news has _followed_ us here, and you need to get us in before it realizes you’re here.”

Jackie blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It means _buzz us the fuck in, asshole!_ ” Marvin yelled.

“Okay, okay,” Jackie muttered, then pressed the button.

* * *

Minutes later, Marvin burst into Jackie’s apartment, carrying what looked like a blue blanket that had been wrapped up into a ball. JJ followed close behind, wearing a backpack that did not match his dapper outfit. By this point, Chase and Schneep had taken places on the sofa. Schneep briefly made eye contact with JJ before they both looked away awkwardly. Jackie was still standing. His hands on his hips, he said “So what’s so important you had to demand I let you into my apartment at nearly one in the morning? And what’s that deal about bad news following you here?”

“ _This_ is what’s so important, my hoodie-loving friend,” Marvin said, holding up the blanket. “And the bad news? Well, the police are on stake-out around the building, and they were paying particularly close attention to us as we were approaching.”

Chase sat up straight. “What?”

“Yeah…” Marvin winced. “I think they know you’re here. Either that, or Jackie and/or the rest of us are suspects by association.”

 _We suspect that they may try to follow us up here,_ JJ signed. _They looked like they were getting ready to move, getting out of their automobiles and such things._

“They need a warrant,” Jackie said. “Or at the very least probable cause.” Unless they were corrupt. That was always possible.

“Jackie…” Chase whispered. “If I’m here, would that be probable cause?”

“Wha—no, no!” Jackie assured him. “Not unless they actually had something they could pin on you. There’s no proof you took the kids.”

“Is there?” Schneep muttered.

A collective chill went around the room. “What do you mean?” Marvin asked.

Schneep took a deep breath. “He can alter digital data at will. He could fake evidence easily, if he wanted to.”

A heavy silence filled the room. “But…would he want to?” Jackie asked.

A knock at the door. “This is the police! Open up!”

Every single one of them could feel the tension in the room rise twenty degrees. Marvin and JJ were the first to move, getting out of the way of the door, going to stand near the kitchenette. Schneep shrank into himself a bit more, Jackie’s old blue hoodie seeming way too large on him. Chase swallowed nervously. Jackie hesitated, then gave the room a shaky smile, trying to be optimistic. He walked to the door and opened it with a pleasant “Hello. What seems to be the problem?”

The two detectives, Bowman and Akela, were standing in the hallway. Behind them were three uniformed cops, including the one from yesterday, Beaton. “You’re Mr. Parker, right?” asked Detective Bowman.

“Yes, ma’am. What’s the problem?”

The detectives glanced at each other. “Yesterday, one Mr. Chase Brody entered this building. He hasn’t come out since,” explained Detective Akela. “Earlier tonight, a warrant was obtained for Mr. Brody’s arrest. We’ve been told you’re a friend of his, so there’s a high chance that he’s here, or if he’s not, you at least know where he is. We need to enter your apartment.”

“You…have a warrant?” Jackie repeated blankly.

“Yes, we do.” Bowman leveled him with a stare. “And you know what that means. If you don’t let us in, you are obstructing justice.”

That was true. Yet still, Jackie hesitated. Chase was his friend. Could he really just…let him get arrested?

“Jackie, open the door.” As if he knew the question Jackie just thought, Chase himself answered. He sounded…resigned. Uneasily, Jackie did what he said and let the detectives and the cops into his apartment.

“Jesus christ, did we walk into a cloning factory?” one of the cops muttered. Marvin bristled at the comment, but nobody else reacted.

Chase stood up, folding his arms. “Hello, detectives,” he said dully. “I’d say it’s good to see you, but I’d be lying.”

“That’s understandable enough,” Akela admitted. “After all, we did just come to arrest you under suspicion of kidnapping. Are you—will you come quietly?”

“I…I just want to know one thing,” Chase said. “What proof do you have?”

“We—” Akela started, but quickly noticed the glare his partner was giving him. He gave her a sour look right back, then continued. “We talked to the Davidsons’ neighbors. One of them, who wishes to remain anonymous, remembered that there was a security camera in the neighborhood. It was meant to monitor traffic in the area, but it catches other things just as easily. We looked over the footage, and it showed you, Mr. Brody, breaking into Ms. Davidson’s house, then leaving again with the two children, Roberta and Trevor.” He sighed. “The evidence is clear. We need to take you in.”

“Digital camera, I presume,” Schneep muttered.

Bowman immediately latched onto that response, scowling at him. “Yes, it is. I don’t see how that’s relevant.” She looked back toward Chase. “Actually, there are several other things we’d like to discuss with you while we’re there. Like the fact that this man—” she pointed at Schneep “—was apparently reported missing by this person—” she pointed at Jackie “—nine months ago, yet here he is, not missing, with the person who filed the report. There are several oddities like this that we’d like you to answer for.”

Marvin couldn’t keep quiet any longer. He’d never liked police, they were a great example of when too much power goes to someone’s head. And now they were treating his friend like this? “Come on!” he cried. “You don’t seriously think Chase is at the heart of some conspiracy, do you?”

“Oh look, he said your favorite word,” Bowman muttered to Akela.

“Not the time,” Akela responded, before turning his attention to Marvin. “We need to take everything into account. The fact is that the evidence points this way, and we need to at least question Mr. Brody.”

Marvin growled. He put the ball of blanket down on the kitchenette counter, then stomped over and stood between Chase and the detectives. “And exactly how good is this digital evidence you’ve _somehow_ gotten your hands on?” he demanded. “A few blurry pixels?” He was vaguely aware of JJ signing _What in the world do you think you are doing?_ in the background, and of Jackie giving him another are-you-crazy-do-you-want-to-get-arrested look, but he didn’t care.

“It’s very clear,” Akela said.

“Mm-hmm, sure it is.” Marvin rolled his eyes.

Bowman glared. “Listen here, Mr…?”

“Moore. Marvin Moore.”

“Oh.” Somehow, giving his name made the detective’s expression darken further. “Okay, listen here, Mr. Moore. We have evidence. We need to act on that evidence. The safety of the children is our highest priority, and your friend is our main suspect and most likely the culprit. So we need to arrest him so we can learn where the kids are, and prevent any further harm to them. If it turns out we got the wrong guy, we’ll let him go. That’s how this works. It’s been working this way for years with no problems.”

“The people who’ve been falsely convicted would beg to differ,” Marvin drawled. “And if you really wanted to keep the kids fucking safe, you wouldn’t take away their fucking dad who’s trying his god damn best to find them! You’d be trying to find the real culprit instead of taking it out on one of the sweetest guys to ever walk the earth! But _no_ , clearly, a single video means he _must_ be the one who took them, fuck the other possibilities!”

“Oh yeah?” Bowman was clearly trying her best to not raise her voice in turn. Judging by the way her face was slowly turning red, it was very hard. “And what, exactly, _are_ the other possibilities? Someone disguised as him? The video is clear enough to show his face, and our facial recognition has matched the one in the footage to him. What about it being faked? We ran a preliminary test on it, and it’s authentic, not to mention we just sent it to be looked at more thoroughly, though it would take some sort of Photoshop genius to fake footage of this quality. Perhaps the camera itself was planted? It’s registered with the city, and has been there for four years. So what else could have _possibly_ happened?”

Time froze for Marvin. In his mind, he ran through several facts. Anti seemed to be out for Chase. Anti couldn’t be allowed to get what he wanted. Chase wouldn’t outrun the police, because he didn’t like to break the law. Chase couldn’t outrun them even if he wanted, because despite his mild parkour skills and the single pistol he owned, he was not simply not capable of fighting them nor fleeing from them. If Chase went to jail, he wouldn’t even last a month before his depression set in, grew worse, and permanent consequences occurred.

And if the police had such a clear image of the culprit’s face, they should have realized that there were five people in this room who all shared the same one.

“Maybe he didn’t know the camera was there,” Marvin said quietly. “Maybe he only dressed as Chase so that Bobby and Trevor would trust him when he told them they had to follow him right now. Maybe he knew that the rest of his appearance was close enough to would fool them.”

The room was dead quiet. The detectives, the cops, and the others were all staring at Marvin. He exhaled, slowly. If he could save his friend this way, he would do it. That was what a good person would do.

“Marvin…?” Chase’s voice broke on the second syllable. The magician didn’t turn around. He didn’t want to see the expression on his friend’s face.

“You missed them so much, Chase,” he said, making up the excuse as he went. “I thought you wanted to see them again. I just needed the right moment to tell you.”

“Well…” Detective Bowman took a few steps back, trading a meaningful look with her partner. “This wasn’t what we expected to happen…but…it’s gotten us a lot farther than the initial arrest would have.”

“No!”

Everyone turned to look as Jackie ran across the room. The cops instinctively reached for their tasers, but they needn’t have worried. Jackie practically leaped in front of JJ, who’d started forward with a dark expression on his face. When the latter tried to get around, Jackie retaliated by wrapping his arms around him. “JJ, no! This has to happen!” he yelled.

JJ didn’t seem to hear him. He just stared at Marvin with a strange expression: part accusing, part pleading, part desperation. The magician merely smiled, and made a few simple signs with his hands, betting that none of the cops understood BSL. Jackie, for his part, looked at Marvin with an uncertain expression, but upon seeing the signs, or maybe the resolve in his eyes, he merely nodded.

“I guess we’re making a different arrest today,” Akela muttered.

“No, you’re not,” Marvin smirked.

“Mr. Moore, you are very clearly outnumbered,” Bowman said sternly.

“Yeah, maybe.” Marvin slipped his hand into his pocket. Mentally, he ran through the spells he knew that didn’t require words. “But you’ve forgotten one thing.” He looked at the detectives, making eye contact with each. “I’m fucking magic!”

A single mental push channeled his energy through the wand hidden in his pocket. A flash of bright white light flared, followed by a puff of green smoke. The onlookers would see a shadow run toward the window and its fire escape.

But by the time they thought to chase it, the real Marvin had already disappeared.

* * *

The clock read 2:13 a.m. The detectives and the cops had searched the area around the building for an hour, but found nothing. Of course they wouldn’t. Marvin’s teleportation spell probably took him to the other side of the city, though the illusion of having someone climb out the window was a nice touch. Eventually, the police had pulled out, admitting they lost him. The two detectives personally apologized to Chase for suspecting him, and had also shared a little bit of Marvin’s history that most of the boys hadn’t known about.

Now the remaining four sat and sorted things out, Chase in the bean bag, Jackie and Schneep on the sofa, and JJ in the armchair. “So…” Jackie said. “Marvin just took the fall.”

“Yeah…” Chase nodded. “I-I didn’t want him to. He just did it. I don’t—why? Why would he do that?”

 _Because that’s the kind of person he is,_ JJ signed. 

They sat quietly for a moment. Then Chase took a deep breath and said, “So, Doc, what was that deal about Marvin needing a psych eval?”

Schneep winced. “He…asked me not to tell you. But that is how we met. Something went wrong at a performance of his, some black magic targeted him and caused him to…freak out, more or less. They thought he had psychotic break, they sent him to me so I could look after him. I, ah, did not tell them that I didn’t actually perform the evaluation. After all, if I told them that Marvin was quite literally magic, then they would have sent me in for one as well.”

JJ looked thoughtful at the mention of black magic. He was the only one in the room who knew that some of the consequences of using it could resemble some forms of a psychotic break. But he chose not to share that. Marvin had chosen not to tell them, and he wouldn’t betray his trust.

“Did we all catch the words he signed?” Jackie asked.

Everyone nodded in unison. The signs had passed rapidly, and there were some gaps even in such a short message, but the point had been made: _I will come back._

“I think…we have to trust him,” Jackie said slowly. “As much as it sucks.” A nervous smile. “He’s very street smart, y’know. And he has powers.”

“So we just have to wait,” Chase sighed. “It feels like that’s all we’ve been doing lately.”

“We can’t do much else, my friend,” Schneep said comfortingly. “Not until we find something out, or a new thing happens.”

“Actually…” Chase looked at JJ. “The whole reason you two showed up here was because ‘something’ appeared at your house. You said it wasn’t bad, so what was it?”

JJ’s eyes widened as he remembered. He made a _wait_ gesture, then stood up and hurried into the kitchenette, grabbing the ball of blanket that Marvin had left behind. He returned, took his place in the armchair again, and set the ball in his lap. The others leaned forward to look at it.

“Is there something _in_ the blanket, or is that it?” Schneep asked.

JJ gave Schneep a flat stare, then started unwrapping the blanket. As each layer of the ball unraveled, it shrank from the size of a basketball to a tennis ball. Then one last layer of cloth was removed. A green glow spread through the air. The boys gasped in unison, staring at the object…which stared back at them.

“Impossible,” Schneep muttered.

“I thought Jack made them up…” Jackie whispered.

Chase struggled to find words…but eventually he let out a single syllable: “ _Sam?!_ ”

The glowing eye’s pupil widened. Somehow, everyone felt joy emitting from them, much like the green light they gave out. If they could have smiled, they would have.

“Well…” Schneep leaned back. “I think this counts as something new.”


	11. Eye to Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Sam showed up, Chase and Jackie realize they need to get Schneep and JJ to reconcile. They employ a simple, yet effective, tactic.

Knowing a living computer glitch was out to get you and your friends was one thing, but knowing that the floating green eyeball your coma-bound friend used as a logo for his YouTube channel wasn’t made up was a different thing entirely.

Sam was a bouncy little…creature. None of them could agree what gender they were, if they had one at all. But Sam didn’t seem to mind, responding equally well to Chase calling them “the lady eyeball” and Schneep giving them an affectionate nickname of “the septic boy.” They bounced around, swimming through the air like a fish through water, looking at everything in the apartment. They seemed to like Jackie a lot, bumping against his cheek and nestling in his hair. JJ also received several boops to the face, perhaps Sam recognizing a fellow mute.

“How is he existing?” Schneep said, watching with wide eyes as Sam settled down on his shoulder. “He is just an eye! He has no heart or brain or anything.”

“I dunno,” Chase shrugged. Sam launched themself toward him, landing on the brim of his hat. “I didn’t think she existed until a few minutes ago. Best guess? She’s just magic.”

“Magic is just things we cannot explain yet,” Schneep muttered.

“Well, I don’t think we’ll have an explanation anytime soon, so why bother?” Jackie stretched, leaning back. It was late, and the day had been long and stressful, but it wasn’t time to sleep yet. “Alright, we’ve gawked for long enough. Time to figure out what they’re doing here.”

Sam flew towards Jackie, hovering just in front of his face, swishing through the air. Somehow, everyone knew they were excited, and ready to talk. “So…you showed up at JJ’s house,” Jackie said slowly. “Any particular reason for that?”

Their optic nerve flicked. The excitement faded a bit. _I think that question is too vague,_ JJ signed. _We need an easy way of understanding them, unless they can write?_

“I do not think they can,” Schneep said. Sam looked toward him as if in agreement. “Okay, this is the system we will use. Go up and down once for yes, go up and down twice for no. Is that good?” The others nodded, and Sam bobbed once.

“Okay, we’ll start with this.” Jackie leaned forward. “Was there a reason for showing up right now?”

A single bob, to show yes.

“Were you, like, looking for one of us or something?”

Hesitation, then another single bob.

“Does this have to do with Bobby and Trevor going missing?” Chase jumped in. Sam bobbed yes, and Chase’s eyes lit up. “Did you come to help us find them?” Another yes.

“Do you—” Schneep’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before trying again. “Do you know anything about _him_?”

A pause. Then Sam slowly bobbed yes. They seemed…hesitant. Sympathetic, even. Schneep slumped back into the sofa cushions, staring off into the distance. Jackie stared at him, then glanced at Chase, who looked equally concerned. “Um, Sam, are you…in any need of any sort of…medical assistance?” Jackie asked.

Sam’s pupil narrowed, then widened. They bobbed, perhaps a bit too eagerly. Jackie looked at Chase again, who, luckily, caught on quickly. “Well we should get that taken care of!” he said. “Schneep, you’re a doctor, you could probably figure this out.”

Schneep looked confused. “He is an _eyeball.”_

“But you’re very good,” Jackie said. “I have the first aid kit in my bedroom. You can go get it.”

Scheep glanced back and forth between Jackie and Chase, who were both staring at him. His eyes narrowed, but he sighed and relented, pushing to his feet. “Okay, okay, I go now.” He disappeared through the door to the bedroom, which was ajar. After a few moments during which nobody said anything, he called, “I can not find anything. Are you sure?”

“Oh damn, I’m sure I put it there,” Jackie said, feigning surprise. “We’d all better help you look. Come on, you two.” Chase and Jackie immediately stood up, and JJ followed, looking a bit confused. Sam darted out of the way as the three of them walked toward the bedroom door.

“Hey JJ, you go in first,” Chase suggested. JJ was halfway through signing _why_ when Jackie said, “Good idea, he’s the neat one, we might not even need to help.” JJ sighed, dropping his hands and brushing past the other two and into the bedroom.

Instantly, Chase slammed the door closed behind him.

The doorknob turned and jiggled, but Chase held the door shut. A harsh knocking on the other side. “Oh no, looks like the door, uh, broke!” Jackie said in mock distress. “You know my shitty apartment, things break all the time.”

“Jackie?” Schneep’s call was muffled a bit. Footsteps, then a strong push on the door. Jackie joined Chase in keeping it shut. “This is not funny, you two! Open the door!” These words were accompanied by a loud banging.

“Nah, dude,” Chase said casually. “You two need to have a talk. Might as well, while you’re both here.”

“What?!” More pushing, but it was no match for the combined strength of Chase and Jackie, fueled by the desire to look out for their friends. “This is not the time! Open up!”

“No, _you_ open up,” Jackie retorted. “We both want both of you to be alright, and it’s no use putting this off. You’re not leaving that room until you two sort out the various shit between you.”

At this point, Schneep gave up on reason and just kept trying to push open the door, eventually resorting to just banging. After a bit, the attempts stopped. Chase dragged the armchair over with considerable effort and propped it against the door. Jackie sighed. “This…makes sense, right?” he asked.

“Jackie, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a sentient glowing eyeball on your coffee table,” Chase said, exasperated. “I think we can throw sense out the window.”

Sam was indeed lying on Jackie’s coffee table, their optic nerve curved around them like a tail.

“You know what I mean.” Jackie ran a hand through his hair. “This is…we’re not horrible friends for doing this?”

Chase considered. “No, I don’t think so. This has to happen, and it’s better if it happens sooner. I don’ wanna have to deal with the two of them, like, stepping on eggshells around each other while we look for the kids. That…wouldn’t be good.”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah…yeah I thought so. But sometimes I’m just not sure if I’m doing the right thing. I can go out into the city and stop a hostage situation easily enough, but when it comes to my friends…I don’t know. I’m trying my best, but I’m a bit more clueless, I guess.”

“You’re doing fine, bro,” Chase reassured him easily. “This is a bitch of a situation we’re in, so decisions are hard to make. But if it’s worth anything, I think you’re a real hero.”

Jackie chuckled. “Thanks, dude. I guess…now we just wait.”

* * *

Schneep gave up pounding on the door. The two of them were never going to let him out. No, that wasn’t true. They were going to. They were. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. This wasn’t the same kind of situation. This was supposed to be good for him.

A flicker of a memory. _Ţh͝i̢s ͞is ͡f̴oŗ your̸ ̡o͟wn g͟ood…_ Schneep shuddered. It was different. It was different. It was.

Something clattered behind him. He spun around to see Jameson resetting one of the figurines on the dresser, looking rather sheepish. Apparently he knocked it over. Jameson looked over to the doctor and froze.

Schneep was getting the strangest feeling that Jameson was afraid of him. It was weird to think of it that way, but he couldn’t come up with another explanation for the way Jameson backed over to the other side of the room upon realizing the two of them were stuck there together. Or the wide-eyed look he was giving him now.

Was he supposed to say something? It wasn’t like Jameson was going to, but he didn’t know what to talk about. Actually, he knew what they were _supposed_ to talk about, but how could you just bring up the demon in the room? Schneep took a seat on the edge of the bed, still staring at Jameson.

Jameson, in turn, looked away. He couldn’t seem to decide what to do with his hands, putting them behind his back, adjusting his bow tie, folding his arms. He took out a pocket watch and stared at it. Schneep could faintly hear the ticking across the small, silent room. Finally, he put the watch away and looked back toward Schneep. He hesitated, then made a single sign: a closed fist making a circle on his chest. _I’m sorry._

Schneep blinked. “You…are? For what?”

Jameson looked away again. _Everything. Marvin told me it’s not my fault, but I still feel…guilty._

“Chase told me the same thing,” Schneep mumbled. “That it was not your fault, I mean.” He stared at Jameson. “I am not sure I believe him.”

Jameson flinched. Schneep continued. “It makes sense, yet it does not make sense. You know things, many things, about how he works, so I know you must been with him at one point. The two of them said you were like Jack once, and I want to believe that. It would be better. But I do not understand how you could be so—so—so _normal_.” Schneep took a breath. “People should not be normal after something like him.”

 _Sometimes…it’s better to pretend._ Jameson signs slowly, hesitantly. _At times of emergency. Like you’ve been doing ever since you showed up and the situation with the kids was uncovered._

“I am not—” Schneep cuts off his own denial. He couldn’t really use that anymore, not after his breakdown in the hospital. “Okay. Fine. You are right. But you have not been. I would know. I would.” He notices his hands are trembling, so he folds his arms to stop them. “You think you know what it is like? I doubt you do. You would not be so calm all the time if you lost nine months of your life.”

 _Perhaps you are right,_ Jameson conceded. _I didn’t lose nine months of my life. I lost it all._ Schneep started, confused. JJ sighed. _My good doctor, I was born in the year 1898. In the year 1925, I made a fool’s mistake. And one year later, karma came to collect. I lost everything. Everyone I knew is either dead or will be soon. And I didn’t even know it until seven months ago, when your friends freed me._

Bits and pieces started falling into place. How Jameson dressed. How he’d take time to spell out old-fashioned words instead of using much shorter signs with more modern meanings. His wide-eyed expression at all the sophisticated medical equipment in the hospital. He was from a different age. That, at least, Schneep could buy. But… “How do I know you are not lying?” he demanded. “Hah? How do I know?”

Jameson smiled sadly. _I suppose you don’t. But I swear to you, on my life, I’m telling the truth. I know how you feel. It may be hard to believe—_

“That is putting it mildly.” Schneep growled, pushing to his feel. “You think you know how I feel? You do not. You know nothing. How could you—how could—” The doctor pulled on the edge of the hoodie he was wearing, exposing the long scar around his neck. “This was done by my own hands. My own! It was the first but not the last. Sometimes he grew bored and decided to do it himself.” He almost shut down right then and there, but a rising surge of emotion pushed him onward. “I could have lived with that, maybe—I do not know, I do not know. I cannot. I tried to help Jack and he— _he_ was there, and he was like an infection. Jack was on the operating table and I was doing things I didn’t need to and I was liking it. I hurt my friend.” Schneep choked on those last words. “I did it, and I wanted to. And then, h-he would find people, I do not know from where, and he’d show them to me, and I would do it again, and only after—only after would he show me what I’ve done and I would hate it and I would hate him and I hate him and I hate me—” Schneep broke off with a gasp as he realized he was crying.

And then he looked at Jameson and realized he was too.

 _You were right,_ he signed. _I don’t know what that feels like. But perhaps I know something similar._ He took a few cautious steps toward Schneep, and when there was no reaction he approached until he was within arms length. And he held up his left hand. It was a mess. An ugly scar ran across his palm. It looked like the cut had been deep…or repeated. There were more scars on his fingers, and down his wrist and across the back of his hand. Schneep couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. But Jameson had been wearing gloves the day before, when everything happened.

Schneep hesitated, then reached out, glancing at Jameson for permission. He nodded, so the doctor took his hand and examined it. Knife wounds. He’d seen enough of them. He let go.

 _I think you know what those are,_ Jameson signed. _Can you imagine, doctor, watching as your hand took a blade and cut yourself? Can you imagine being unable to stop as that same blade was turned away from you and towards others? Can you imagine screaming in your mind, banging on a mental wall as something laughs and tells you you’re powerless?_ His hands slowed as he breathed deeply. _It was not the same as you, but I can imagine what it could’ve been like._

Schneep stared at Jameson’s trembling hands, at the tears in his eyes, and any mistrust faded away completely. “I—I am sorry,” Schneep gasped. “I—I am, truly. I thought—I did not—” With the fading of his anger, the doctor lost all the strength he had and collapsed on the bed, lying on his back and staring vaguely at the ceiling. “I-I only…it feels…like hell. I do not want false sympathy. I have had enough of that. I do not want to wonder what is real anymore. I want…to be…”

Jameson sat on the bed next to him. As always, he didn’t say anything, but Schneep knew. He knew that here was someone who understood.

* * *

Jackie was jolted awake by the sound of banging. Blearily, he sat up. Sam had curled up on his chest, and the movement dislodged them, though they didn’t seem bothered by that. They just rolled down so they were sitting in his lap. “Wha…? Did I…?”

“Fall asleep on the couch? Yeah, you kinda did, bro,” Chase yawned. “Don’t blame’ya. Long day. You were pretty tired.” He pulled himself out of the beanbag and walked over to the bedroom door, which still had the armchair in front of it. He knocked on it. “Yeah? You guys ready to come out?”

“No, he is hitting the door for fun,” came Schneep’s muffled voice. “Yes of course we are ready.”

“Talk things over in there?”

There was a pause. When Schneep answered, his voice sounded…different. Softer. “Yes, we did. We’ve reached an…just open the door.”

“Alright. I trust you guys.” With effort, Chase pulled the armchair out of the way. The door swung open and JJ stumbled through, followed by Schneep. Jackie could already tell things were better. The two of them weren’t avoiding looking at or being near each other anymore.

“Alright. So.” Schneep clapped his hands together. “What do we do about the septic boy?”

Sam perked up at the nickname, shooting up a bit before settling on top of Jackie’s head. “I dunno,” Jackie said. “I think they’re tired. I am. You guys prolly are. I think we should go to bed and figure stuff out later.”

JJ coughed. _I hope you don’t mind, but…I don’t feel like going all the way back home right now. You wouldn’t mind if I stayed here, would you?_

“Nah, course I don’t mind,” Jackie shrugged. “Uh, Chase, Schneep, you…want to go home?”

Chase looked at Schneep, who’d suddenly gotten a lot paler. “It’s late, maybe we shouldn’t walk through the city at two forty-five in the morning,” Chase said. “Dangerous, y’know? We can all stay here.”

Jackie bit his lip. “I don’t really have any spare blankets or sleeping bags or anything. There’s just the sleeper sofa, and my bed. We could go two to each, so if you guys don’t mind doing that…”

“Is fine,” Schneep hurried to say. “Is better this way.”

Jackie smiled. “Guess we’re settled then. Everyone go get ready.”

Twenty minutes later, everyone was asleep. It had undoubtedly been one of the craziest days of all their lives. And it wasn’t over. There was still kids to find, and one of their members was missing entirely. But for now, it was peaceful.

Sam inched their way inside Jackie’s room. They’d been left with a cloth “bed” on the coffee table, and though they loved that the boys were thinking of them, they had more important work to do. They saw Jackie, asleep in his bed with the newest one curled up next to him. His arm was around him in a protective manner. Sam knew that Jackie was the one. He was the hero, the one who always wanted to do right, and if anyone embodied Jack’s positivity, it was him.

With an inaudible sigh, Sam flew over and settled onto Jackie’s chest. They stopped moving…and then their green glow intensified. The pulsing light synced up with Jackie’s heartbeat.

And slowly, slowly, the scales tipped in their favor.


	12. The Next Course of Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week later, Jackie and Sam manage to find Marvin, and a new lead. But then they’re interrupted. And things quickly go downhill from there, as static fills his mind…

Time passed. The four remaining boys settled into a routine. Get up, scour the Internet, go to work (or look for a job for the two who didn’t have one already), come back home and resume the search. Schneep still didn’t have his apartment back, so he roomed with Jackie. JJ insisted that he was fine at home alone, but almost every night Chase would open his door and quietly let Jameson inside to sleep over before returning to his house the first thing next morning.

Sam stayed with Jackie. They got really attached to him really quickly. When he fell asleep, he always woke up with them curled up on his chest, glowing softly. And when he went out on patrol at night, looking for crime and also keeping an eye out for the kids, Sam followed. Jackie didn’t mind. The little eye could look out for themselves, and it was nice to have company on these cold nights in the city.

It was a week before they found a lead. Or rather, a lead found them. Jackie was out on patrol in the northern part of the city—the most run-down part. Most of the buildings here were abandoned, and there were a lot of empty warehouses that nobody used anymore. Or at least, nobody was supposed to. The entire section was rife with criminals, to the point where Jackie actually tried to avoid it if possible. He was just one man, and he was outnumbered in this area. But…to be honest, he was starting to get a bit frantic in his search for the kids. They all were. A week missing was never good, but in _these_ circumstances, with the glitch on the loose…

Jackie was sitting on the roof of one of the buildings, which might have been an old apartment complex before it was abandoned. His legs dangled over the edge. He sighed, and rubbed his eyes under his mask. Sam flew in front of his face, pupil wide and radiating concern. “What? No, I’m fine, Sam,” he insisted. “Just tired.” Sam flicked their tail, as if to say, _yeah, sure._ “No, really! It’s been a long night, and nothing much has happened. Nothing has happened…at all really.”

Sam gently bumped against him, emitting a cheerful energy. Jackie smiled a bit. “Yeah, I’m keeping up that positive mental attitude. Gotta have hope. Gotta make sure the others have it as well.” He had to. He was the most optimistic one of them all; if he gave up, they would follow, and they couldn’t afford that.

Sam’s glow dimmed a bit, then re-brightened. They darted away, heading toward the roof exit of the building before turning back around and looking at Jackie expectantly. “What is it?” The hero frowned, puzzled. “You want to…show me something?” Sam bobbed once. Jackie clambered to his feet. “Alright, lead the way, then.”

Sam led Jackie back down through the abandoned building and out onto the street. Once there, they zoomed off in a seemingly random direction. “Wh—Sam, wait up!” The little eye was incredibly fast sometimes. Jackie sprinted to keep up. Sam didn’t slow down, not even at intersections. They turned and dashed in a twisting route, until Jackie began to suspect they didn’t know where they were going.

At one point Jackie turned a corner and ran head-first into someone in a purple hoodie. He didn’t stop to apologize, mostly because there was no time if he wanted to keep up with Sam, and also partly because the patrons of this city section didn’t usually look too kindly on vigilantes and he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. Not too long after that, Sam took a side street and darted into an alleyway. A second later, Jackie heard a voice: “Who the—Sam?! What the hell are you doing here?!”

Jackie paused for a moment in shock, then ducked into the alley. “Marvin? Is that you?”

The alley was small, big enough for two people to walk side-by-side but not much bigger than that, and also dark. Sam’s green glow helped Jackie see the outline of a person. “Jackie?” the familiar voice gasped. “I gotta—hang on a sec.” He muttered something Jackie couldn’t make out, and suddenly five glowing orbs sprang into existence, giving off a soft yellow-green light. Jackie blinked a bit to let his eyes adjust. Now he could see that somehow, against all odds, he’d run right into Marvin. His mask was on, and he tapped his wand nervously against his palm. “What’re you doing here?” he asked.

“Well, I was out on patrol, then all of a sudden Sam went off and I followed because, y’know, seemed important. I think they knew you were here?” The eye was currently swishing around the floating lights, looking illegally cute.

“Okay, wow, uh— _I_ didn’t even know I was gonna be here. That’s impossible.”

“The fuck do you mean?”

“I _mean_ that I have no plan,” Marvin admitted. “I’ve just been kinda…wandering around the city, and the area around it. What’ve you guys been doing? How are the others?”

Jackie sighed. “Well, things could be going better. Chase is obviously a mess. He’s…having a bad time right now. I don’t think he’s eating, and he’s oversleeping a lot. I can tell something is up with him, but he won’t tell me anything. And JJ started having nightmares again—”

“What?!” The glowing orbs briefly flared before dimming again. “Oh fuck, sorry, didn’t mean to do that.”

“Nah, it’s okay. But, uh, yeah. At least he’s been telling us about them this time. That’s progress!”

Marvin looked doubtful at Jackie’s falsely cheery tone. “I see…and, uh, Schneep? How’s he holding up?”

“Not…too well,” Jackie said slowly. “He’s trying to get his job at the hospital back, but apparently they replaced him with an amateur and he’s pretty angry ‘bout that. And the other day, I was doing some cooking and he was offering to help, but I pointed at him and said ‘you go sit down and wait, I’m doin’ this cause of friendship,’ only I, uh, was holding a knife and the time, so when I pointed it at him he freaked out. I…really didn’t mean to, I didn’t even think about it, but…”

“Jesus fucking christ,” Marvin muttered. “I leave for a week and everything goes to shit.”

“Y’know somehow I doubt anything much would’ve changed if you’d been here all this time. Didn’t you once tell me that you liked to fuck things up?” Jackie’s mouth twitched. “Those exact words.”

“I don’t remember that, but yeah, sounds like something I’d say,” Marvin shrugged. “What about the kids? Am I off the hook yet?”

“I think you should remember that you put yourself on the hook in the first place. You were like a gullible fish.”

“No, I was a fish that was like ‘yeah, Chase can’t outrun the cops, I have a better shot.’ But anyway, is there any progress?”

Jackie shook his head. “You have no idea how many deep web searches Chase and I have ran. I’m gonna end up attracting the wrong kind of attention, again. Also, I’ve been looking for them at night, y’know, like I’m doing now. But nothing. Do _you_ have anything, or has your lack of a plan gotten in the way?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate my improv skills!” Marvin wiggled his fingers, unintentionally causing the orbs to flicker. “Ya know there’s a whole magic underground? I didn’t either, but they’re surprisingly helpful!”

“Uhh, when you mention something underground my instincts scream ‘illegal!’ at me. Should I be concerned?”

“Nah, they’re cool. Been around for decades, mostly trade spellbooks and talismans. It’s just underground ‘cause, well, most people don’t believe in magic.”

Jackie squinted at him. Marvin wasn’t quite looking him in the eyes. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Marvin insisted. “Anyway, if you know where to look you can find all kinds of cool shit. And…I might have found something?”

Jackie’s heart leaped. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Marvin nodded vigorously. “Okay, so, you remember the scrying spell and how it went wrong?”

“Vividly,” Jackie muttered.

“So I was wondering if that was because of _him,_ or if I just didn’t know what I was doing, or something else. I did some digging around, and found two explanations for why it blew up. One, he was able to catch me watching and basically warped the connection until it broke. Entirely possible, even plausible, but there’s another option. We reached the kids perfectly well, but they weren’t in this reality.”

“Uh, what?”

“Shut up, I’m explaining.” Marvin flicked his wand, and a simple diagram appeared, made of green light and hovering in the air like a hologram. It was a simple sphere, with several flat circles floating around it, connected by thin streams of misty green. “Okay, so this globe is the world, right?” Marvin tapped it with his wand. “It’s the universe. We live here. But these things—” he tapped one of the circles “—are what we can call pocket dimensions. They’re different realities, connected to ours. Some are constant, some appear sporadically, sometimes you can summon the entrance, sometimes the entrances open on their own and you can accidentally walk through. They’re all pretty small though, the largest one being the equivalent of a small country in size. Following me so far?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so.”

“Okay, so here’s the kicker: you can’t scry into a pocket dimension. If you try, then the spell will backfire on you, violently. Pretty similar to what happened to us. And we haven’t been having luck with finding Bobby and Trevor, have we? Maybe for a good reason?”

“Wait. Wait wait wait.” Jackie’s mind was whirling. Sam stopped their frolicking and settled down on the top of his head like they could hear his mile-a-minute thoughts. “You’re saying they might be _in_ one of these?!”

“Exactly!” Marvin shouted triumphantly. “Seems like something he would do, right? And it would also makes sense why we couldn’t find Schneep those months, too! We looked fucking everywhere!”

“Oh my god,” Jackie breathed. No wonder there was no sign of the kids. He’d been starting to suspect they were somewhere else in the world entirely, but maybe they weren’t in the world at all. “And-and can you get into this pocket dimension? Is that possible?”

“I’ve been working on a few tricks,” Marvin grinned. “I’m trynta figure out how to open entrances. I _almost_ had it night before last, almost got into the mirror dimension, but it didn’t stay open very long. And there are a couple more tricks, especially when it comes to, say, forcing your way into a hostile pocket. But I’m sure that if I just keep practicing we can at least try to find them.”

“Marvin that is fantastic news!” Jackie rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the magician, squeezing tight.

“Whoa, hey! Non-consensual hug! I need to breathe here!” Marvin didn’t actually sound too upset.

“Sorry,” said Jackie, not the least bit sorry. He let go and stepped back. “It just—god, finally, some progress! It feels so good!”

“You tell me. It’s only been a few days and I’m already sick of being an outlaw. Obviously we need to wait a bit longer, but I—what’s Sam doing?”

Jackie turned around. Sam had been dislodged from their perch when he attack-hugged Marvin. Now they were staying completely still in the air, as if suspended their by a wire, facing the entrance to the alleyway. Their optic nerve was sticking upward, like a cat raising its tail at a threat, and they’d started glowing brighter. “Uh…I dunno. I’ve never seen them do this before.” Jackie crept forward, glad his super suit boots muffled his footsteps. The tip of Marvin’s wand flared a dark green, then Marvin walked forward, completely quiet. The two of them exchanged looks, silently agreeing on a plan. When they reached the alley entrance, Jackie held up three fingers. Then two. Then one, and—

In unison the two of them jumped out onto the street, Marvin going left with his wand at the ready and Jackie leaping right. Immediately Jackie saw someone and tackled them, falling to the ground. The person yelped. “Get off me!” Jackie rolled away and stood up, but remained at the ready. It was the same guy he’d run into earlier, in the purple hoodie. But now he had more time to look, and realized he recognized him.

Marvin looked his direction and scowled. “Oh fan-fucking-tastic, it’s one of those detectives.”

It was the shorter, dark-haired one, Detective Akela. He rubbed the back of his head where it hit the pavement and glared up at Marvin. “Yes, it’s one of those detectives. I’d say it’s good to see you again, Mr. Moore, but it’s not.”

“The feeling is mutual, dickface.”

“Marvin, no,” Jackie said sternly. “You’re not jumping straight into insults.”

“I can jump straight into whatever I want, the dude tried to arrest Chase!” Marvin yelled.

“Well, yeah!” Jackie yelled back. “Because that’s his job! Maybe if we didn’t antagonize the police, they wouldn’t arrest _any_ of us!”

“Fuck that! I can antagonize anyone who goes after you guys, I don’t care what their job is!”

“You two do realize I’m still here, right?” Akela said, climbing to his feet.

Jackie’s head whipped toward him. The detective seemed like he’d been listening for a while… “How much of that did you hear?!” he asked, slightly panicked.

Akela hesitated. “I didn’t hear anything. I was just passing by and you two jumped me.”

“Bullshit!” Marvin spat. “Sam started acting weird, they must’ve realized you were eavesdropping on us.”

“Who the hell is Sam?” Akela demanded.

Marvin and Jackie glanced back down the alley, but the eye seemed to have disappeared. “They’re probably hiding,” Jackie muttered. “But the point is, we know you heard us talking down there. You’re kind of an awful liar for a detective.”

Akela looked like he wanted to keep fighting, but then his shoulders slumped and he seemed to give up. “Yeah. I know. Lydia always handles that part. I’m more of an observer, or a, um, thinker. She finds the pieces, I put ‘em together. So, uh, yeah, I heard pretty much everything that went on in there. You bumped into me and I thought, ‘hey, there’s the vigilante, better follow him!’ because I’m…an idiot, I guess. And I may have…caught a lot of that.”

“Wow, you told us all that way too easily,” Marvin said in a biting voice. “What are you even doing here?! Nobody lives in this area! And out this late?!”

“It was a shortcut, alright?!” Akela snapped. “Not all of us have _his_ luck—” he pointed at Jackie “—and get an apartment of our own in a central part of the city! And some of us work late shifts, and have to walk through the deadly part of town to get back home so we can sleep!”

Jackie suddenly became very still and silent. “How do you know where I live?”

Akela went pale. “I—well, I—I mean, I heard you—you both seem familiar with each other, and also, we-we-we did background checks on most of you, so I’m pretty familiar with your faces at this point, and, uh, you mentioned the others, and I was there—”

“Fuck!” Marvin shouted, sparks flying from the end of his wand. Akela jumped back. “Fucking perfect! Now he knows who you are! Now he knows where I am! Now everything’s fucking awful!”

“Marvin for god’s sake, calm down!” Jackie snapped. “He’s not gonna tell anyone, right?” He glared at Akela. “Right?”

Akela looked away, putting his hands in his hoodie pocket. “I…don’t know. At first I thought I would have to, what with the Brody kids missing and you confessing…I thought I would hear some information that might find them, and break the case. But then you two started talking about weird shit, and it might be code but you seem like you’re trying to find the kids…and now I’m just confused.”

Jackie sighed. “Look, we’re not the bad guys here. Marvin isn’t the bad guy. He just wanted to protect his friends. And I know you’ve got that-that video footage, that you thinks proves everything, but it doesn’t. We’re on the case as much as you are, and we know a whole hell of a lot more than you do. It would be safer if you stayed out of it.”

He glanced at Marvin to see if he would back him up, but Marvin was staring suspiciously at Akela’s hoodie pocket. “Do you…have something in there?” he asked slowly.

“Just my phone,” Akela hurried to respond.

“Well I can see you playing with it through the fabric. Why are you doing that?”

Akela took a step backward, and that only confirmed Marvin’s suspicions. In a flash, quite literally, he was directly in front of the detective, who was struggling to pull away as Marvin tried to get into his pocket. Only a few moments of wrestling later, and Marvin backed away, holding a black smart phone in his hand.

Jackie gaped. “Marvin, I was _just_ trying to explain we’re not the bad guys! You’re not helping when you do shit like this!”

“Dude, he was recording us!” Marvin showed the phone’s screen to Jackie. “He got a lot of it too!”

“Give it back,” Akela growled.

“Or what? Do you have a gun on you or something? No, I don’t think so, otherwise you just would’ve confronted us instead of lurking in the shadows.” Marvin pursed his lips. “Now the question is, should I delete this video?”

“I’d like to point out that you two were hiding in the shadows, and I was on the streetlamp-lit sidewalk outside!” Akela countered. “Look, just, give me back my phone, with the video, and I won’t tell anyone about Mr. Parker’s midnight outings.”

“You make it sound so _formal,”_ Jackie muttered.

Marvin looked at Jackie. “What d’you think? Should I delete it?”

Jackie hesitated. “I have no idea. I trust him, but…” he didn’t need to finish the sentence. That video could easily be used to identify Jackie as the vigilante, for anyone who was clever enough to put the pieces together like Akela did.

Marvin shrugged. “Oh well.” He tapped the delete button on the screen. Akela made a strange kind of squeak sound. “Guess it’s better safe than—” He cut himself off. His eyes widened as he stared at the screen.

“What is it?” Jackie asked.

“It—it came back,” Marvin breathed. “It _came back.”_ He pressed delete again, only for the video to reappear once more. He tried again, with the same result. “It’s not going away!”

Akela’s eyes darted between Jackie and Marvin. “Why do you two look so worried? It’s just a glitch. Sometimes deleted photos or videos look like they come back, but they don’t actually. You guys win, okay? It’s gone forever.”

Suddenly, Marvin dropped the phone with a gasp. It landed screen-up on the pavement. The phone was glitching rapidly between different apps, lagging and breaking under a layer of white noise. It was letting off a faint sound of static that was steadily growing louder. At times, it almost seemed like voices—or laughter.

“Shit!” Jackie gasped. Marvin didn’t say anything, just pointed his wand at the phone. A concentrated beam of green lightning shot out and hit the phone in a flash of yellow sparks, breaking it into three pieces.

But the static didn’t stop.

Akela could only stare. “Why did you do that? No, _how_ did you do that?! How the hell did you do that?!”

Marvin didn’t answer, only looked at Jackie with wide eyes. “He’s here.”

Jackie could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. But he nodded. “We need to leave. Now.”

“What’s going on?!” Akela sounded like he was trying to be brave, but there was a tremble in his voice. “Who’s ‘he?’ Why are you so scared— _what the hell is that?!”_

Sam had finally chosen this moment to come out of the alley where they were hiding. They flew over to Jackie and settled on his shoulder, radiating worry.

“That’s Sam,” Marvin said curtly. “Now listen close, detective.” He took a few steps forward and grabbed Akela by the shoulders. “You don’t know what’s going on. Keep it that way. The more you know, the more attention you draw, and you do _not_ want his attention. Just go home, go to sleep, and forget tonight ever happened. Let us take care of this ourselves, because you have no idea what the fuck you’re getting into, and trust me when I say you don’t want to know. Now go.” He let go of Akela’s shoulders, but the detective could only gape up at him. He growled, then clapped his hands, causing a flurry of green sparks to fly outward. “ _Get out of here!”_ Akela jumped, then ran across the street, disappearing around a building corner.

The static was getting louder.

“We should split up,” Jackie said.

Marvin whirled on him. “Are you insane?! Have you seen any horror movie ever?! Splitting up is the worst kind of suicide in these situations!”

“Marvin shut up and listen to me!” Jackie shrieked. His tone quieted Marvin. “Look, he’s only one glitch—demon—entity thing. He probably can’t go after both of us at once. And I know, you’re gonna say we’re stronger together or something, and you’re _right,_ but I—” Jackie swallowed. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. If something happened to both of us, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Don’t make me watch that happen.”

Marvin was at a loss for words, for once. But he nodded. “I don’t get it, but…sure. If you want. Take Sam with you.” He started back down the alleyway. “And…be safe. I don’t think I could live with that either.” He was gone.

Jackie waited only a second before taking off in the other direction, Sam still on his shoulder. The sound of the static followed him, hissing in his ears no matter how fast he ran or how much he turned. Jackie didn’t let himself stop, just kept sprinting. He had to get to safety. Where was that again? Home? That sounded slightly better than anywhere else.

_I͏t'͏͡͞s ̵̨a̸l̶̡l̵͝ ̡͏y̶̨͢ǫu̵͝r͏ ̸f̷̕a͠u͠l̨͢t̵͠_

Jackie skidded to a halt in surprise, before immediately starting back up again. He could’ve sworn he heard…but he shook it off. Hearing words in white noise was _not_ a good sign. Neither was seeing it in the corner of your vision, which totally wasn’t happening nope not at all. Hadn’t he already run down this street? Twice? He had no choice, he had to take a break and get his bearings.

He forced himself to stop again, panting. Sam fell off his shoulder and tumbled to the ground. They glowed weakly, their light…flickering. Dimming. They shivered weakly.

“Sam, are you alright?” Jackie gasped. The words came out slowly. He had to blink through the fog in his head. Sam looked up to him, trembling. The answer seemed to be no. 

_I̵͝t̶̸̕'̶͏s̷͟ a̧l͝l̕͞͠ y̸͡o̷̡͢ưŗ̸ ͢͠f̴au͞͝lt̛_

“He’s not good for you, is he?” Jackie asked. Sam made a sort of half-bob in confirmation. “Sam, you have to go. You can fly a lot faster than I can run.” That made the little eye’s glow brighten a bit as they jumped up and hovered in the air. “No, Sam, go. The rest of the guys need you, don’t they? And I don’t want to imagine what’ll happen if he gets you.”

That didn’t faze Sam at all. They shot straight up to Jackie’s eye level, then flickered and dropped down a foot. “See?!” Jackie exclaimed.

 _I̴ţ̕'̢s ̶̶͢a̵ll͟͏ ̷y̢͝o̢͡u̕͏r͝͝ ̷̢f̛a͏̶̷u̕ļ̶̴t_

_Yo̕͠u͝ ̵͏ḑ̧͢i̴̸d thi͝s_

Jackie noticed he was shaking. Why was he doing that? Sam looked up at him with a concerned gaze. “Sam, you gotta go. Please,” Jackie pleaded. Sam stared at him blankly, their light flickering more and more. Then an air of determination came over them. With a sudden burst of energy, the eye darted forward, ramming right into Jackie’s chest with such force that he stumbled back a few steps. He gasped. He felt something warm deep within him; a burst of appreciation, he assumed, for Sam’s unwillingness to leave.

Sam’s light dimmed, and they dropped to the ground.

Jackie’s mouth suddenly felt really dry. “Sam?” There was no response. The hero knelt on the ground next to them. “Sam?! Are you okay?!” 

_Į̛t'͢s̕ ̶a̢ll ͢you͟r͠͠ ̷̢fa̶u̶l͞t̶͟͠_

The little eye didn’t move at all, their glow barely visible. Gently, Jackie scooped them up. They were the size of a tennis ball, but they seemed so much smaller. “Sam, please. Answer me!”

_Y̛ǫ̵u̴̡ ̢̧d͢id̷ t̛͢h͟͝i̛s̶͡_

“Sam, please I can’t have—I can’t have—not this too!”

_I̛̩̮̗͈̝͔̩͡t̛̟̝͍'̧̳͓̗͖͉̜͔͎͞s̵̴̝͇̲̲̤ ̪̕̕a̯̭̻͔͝l̨̻ļ̙̜̮͖͍ͅ ͉̻̫͕̮̝̩͞y̸̭͍̬̗̰̰̳̭̹o̶̸͕̖̪u̻̣̣r̳̥̱͍̱̝̫͠ ̵̙̠̗̙f̖̼͓a̗̖̬̩̙̪u̶͉̭͓̘͟l̴̠̱̲͉̲̼̠̜t̘̠̼_

“I tried! I’m trying!”

_Y̸̯̻̬̬̝̱o̷͡҉̼͔̟̥u҉͡ ͕̙̙̥͢ͅd͈̤̤i̵̭͉͕̤͎̠̣d̪̘̻͉̙̳̼̰͢͡ ̢͏̟͔͎̰͕̼͉͡ṯ̢̛h̴҉͉͉̯̘̖i̮̬̼͕̬͕̹̤̬̕͠s̮̹͎͎̖̥̤̦͡_

Jackie felt tears in his eyes, and then—

It happened between one blink and the next. There was a man, kneeling on the sidewalk, holding a small green orb in his hands. And then? There was nothing but a few red shadows drifting in the wind and the sound of triumphant laughter.


	13. Upside Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where did Jackie go? None of the others are sure, but they know who’s behind it. Jackie himself is lost in a strange sort of world, but he’s surprised by what he finds in there.

Chase woke up with his heart beating unusually fast, covered in sweat. For a moment, the image of a red hallway lingers in his mind, a bright green light piercing the darkness…but then it fades. It must have been a nightmare. Weird. He looks over at the clock. It was almost two a.m., jeez, why was he up? Guess it was the nightmare. He’s about to fall asleep again when he hears somebody yelling downstairs.

No, that was probably fine, JJ had stayed the night…and then Chase bolted upright. No, that _couldn’t_ be an explanation for why there was shouting downstairs. How the hell had he forgotten? And who was in his house, then? Chase flung the covers away, pulling open his nightstand drawer and taking out his gun. It was unloaded, but it could work as a threat. He ran down the hall—having the strangest feeling of deja vu—to the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, he followed the sound of the voice into the living room.

“—and if Jackie’s dead I swear I’m going to kill him!”

For a split second, Chase doesn’t recognize the people in the room. Then he wonders why he didn’t. There’s JJ, sitting on the couch still wearing his day clothes, probably having not slept at all. And there’s _Marvin,_ wearing his mask and cape, frantically pacing along one wall. Chase watches as he pulls out his wand and taps the front door’s knob, causing it to glow green for a moment.

“Wh—Marv, what are you doing here?!” Chase asked, lowering his empty gun.

Marvin spun around. “I’m freaking the fuck out, Chase! That’s what I’m doing!”

“Yeah, I can see that but why?”

“Because I saw him!” Marvin was shaking a bit. “Jackie and Sam found me, and there was that detective, and then he showed up in the phone, and-and we decided to split up, which was probably a bad idea but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and th-then he followed me, I could hear him there was static everywhere and-and-and—” he cut off, breathing rapidly, almost hyperventilating.

JJ stood up and walked over to Marvin. _I think you need to sit down, my good man._ Marvin didn’t protest as JJ guided him over to the couch and sat him down on it. Chase stuffed the empty gun into the waistband of his pajama pants, then walked over to stand next to JJ.

 _Now, we can’t help if you keep running around like a lunatic and won’t give us the whole story,_ JJ signed. _So if you would please start at the beginning._

Marvin nodded, very deliberately taking deep breaths. Once he calmed down enough, he told Chase and JJ all about how he’d been in the north part of the city when Sam had led Jackie right to him. He explained about the conversation they had about pocket dimensions and how they’d found Detective Akela eavesdropping on them, recording every word. Marvin had tried to delete the video, only to find out that _he_ had tracked them down. Jackie had insisted they go different ways, and Marvin acquiesced.

“Wait, you _let_ him go out on his own?!” Chase gaped. “You do realize that’s exactly what you’re not supposed to do, right?”

“Of course I fucking know!” Marvin yelled. “But you didn’t see the look on his face! He would’ve run away from me if he had to! He was just so…so _determined_.”

 _What happened next?_ JJ prompted gently.

“Well, I ran, of course. I-I didn’t want to leave him, but I did. And I had to run because I could hear him following me. He—he was in my-my head, s-saying things that—that—and I looked behind me and I s-saw him—” Marvin swallowed. “Like-like a man made out of three-dimensional white noise. Distortion. He was everywhere at once and his eye was glowing and I-I—I—” He cut off.

That description sounded oddly familiar to Chase. But why would it? He’d never seen Anti before. “And you think he followed you here?” Chase asked.

“He must have!” Marvin was shaking again. “Why would he stop? I tri-tried to ward your doors, but I don’t know if that will work.”

 _It will._ The signs were firm, matching the expression on JJ’s face. _Marvin, you are the most talented and GOOD magician I have ever met. I know he must have said things to you that would strike hard, but you must realize he lies. He just wants you to break down so he can get into your head._

“I know…” Marvin sounds like he’s trying to convince himself. “No, I know that. It’s just…hard to ignore those thoughts.”

Chase winced. Damn, if that wasn’t something he could relate to. “Well, then, we’re gonna drown them out. Marvin, whatever he said is absolutely not true. He’s a bitch and you’re gonna not give him the satisfaction.”

Marvin removed his mask and put his head in his hands. He took several deep breaths. JJ sat down next to him and put his hand on his back, rubbing comforting circles. After a moment of this, Marvin looks up again. “Okay. Okay, you’re right. You are. But now what are we supposed to do?”

“I think we just hold out,” Chase said, glancing toward the front door. “Wait and see if he really followed you here. See if Jackie shows up too. I should…go find some of the clips for this gun. Keep ‘em in a different part of the house.”

“Good. You shouldn’t even have that in the first place, it’s illegal.” That last part was said half-heartedly. Marvin relaxed, leaning back in the sofa.

JJ smiled. _Well, while we’re waiting, should I make some tea?_

Marvin laughed. “Only you would want to make tea at a time like this. But, yeah, if you’re offering, that would be appreciated.”

JJ patted Marvin on the shoulder before standing up and hurrying to the kitchen. Chase hesitated before turning around and heading back upstairs, looking for the storage closet where he kept the bullets for his gun. A week of no activity at all, of being worried about Bobby and Trevor wherever they were and wondering what Marvin was doing, and now the glitch just decides to show up again? What was he planning? And why just take a break in the middle of it when they’d had enough trouble dealing with all the shit he caused in just two days? He could have easily swooped in and fucked their lives up, but instead…what?

Chase arrived back downstairs with his gun actually loaded. Marvin was curled up at one end of the sofa, staring resolutely at the door and holding his wand in one hand. Chase had never seen him so tense. “It’s gonna be fine, bro,” he reassured him. “I think you outran him.”

Marvin didn’t look away from the door. “I doubt it. He’s not human, he wouldn’t get exhausted. And why would he give up?”

“I don’t know. Why would he take over Jack’s coma? Why would he take my…?” Chase trails off for a second, losing his train of thought. He blinked a few times and got back on track. “We don’t know how his mind works. Maybe he just wanted to fuck with you.”

Marvin laughed bitterly. “Maybe. Just show up and mess with my head, separate me from Jackie who I haven’t seen in an entire week—” he broke off. His eyes widened. “Wait…what if—Jackie!” He shot to hit feet. “I gotta—no, fuck, Jackie!—I—”

“Whoa, dude!” Chase immediately grabbed Marvin by the shoulders. “Calm down! What’s the problem?”

“He-he might’ve stopped following me to go after Jackie!” Marvin was panicking. “I knew I shouldn’t’ve left him! Fuck, dude, I have to—”

A loud knocking. Marvin and Chase jumped in unison to see JJ standing in the doorway to the kitchen, having just knocked on the doorframe for attention. _You’ll be no good to anyone rushing off in a tizzy,_ he signed. _There are a million more rational things to do about this. Calm down and think about it._ He waited for a moment, staring down Chase and Marvin, making sure they weren’t about to rush out the door. Then he gestured behind him. _The tea is ready, if you’d still care for it._

Chase and Marvin glanced at each other. They hadn’t seen JJ this assertive in a long time. It was a little jarring, but somehow welcome. So they followed him into the kitchen and sat at the table while JJ poured the tea into cups for them.

“Okay, so.” Chase’s fingers drummed an anxious rhythm on the table surface. “We obviously need to check on Jackie. But he doesn’t take his phone on patrol with him, and when he does it’s turned completely off.”

“Why the fuck does he do that?” Marvin muttered.

Chase shrugged. “Apparently the noise got in in trouble one time. Even the vibration. But anyway, we can’t call him.”

JJ then makes two signs. The one for phone, which looked like one of those fake telephones children make with their hands, and then one neither of the others had ever seen before. It looked like a combination of two: first tapping his left wrist with two of his fingers like he was taking a pulse, then linking his two pinkies together.

“What was that?” Marvin asked. “Doctor…then that second one is ‘S’ right?” His eyes widen. “Wait, did you give Schneep a name sign? When did you do that?”

JJ nodded. _I don’t see why I shouldn’t. We are…going to be close, after all._

Wait, didn’t Schneep not like JJ? No, they made up. Chase and Jackie locked them in a room together until they did. Chase shook himself internally. How could he forget that? “Well anyway, you sayin’ we should call him?”

 _He is staying with Jackie,_ JJ pointed out. _If Jackie has come home, Schneep would know._

“But…he’s electronic and shit,” Chase said. “Wouldn’t he know if we call Doc? Could he mess with the call? Make a fake one?”

“Possibly, but I think we should try. Better than waiting.” Marvin digs deep into his pocket and pulls out a phone, then dials a number.

Chase raises an eyebrow. “New phone?”

“Yeah. Didn’t want the police or, y’know, him, tracking me.” The other line rings for a while before someone on the other side picks up. “Hey, Schneep? It’s Marvin.” This prompts a string of yelling so loud even Chase and JJ can hear it through the phone. “Schneep, calm down, I—yeah, I know—no, shut up, just listen. First things first, I have a question for you. Do you remember when we first met? What was the first thing you said to me? Yes, this is important.”

Chase gives Marvin an odd look, but Marvin just waves him down, listening to the other side. JJ signs, _He’s asking a question only the doctor would know the answer to. Just to check if it’s really him. Great idea!_

Schneep must’ve given the right answer, because Marvin relaxed. “Okay. Cool. Just making sure. Now, uh, is Jackie home?” A pause. Then Marvin’s eyes widened and he started tapping the table nervously. “You’re sure? Maybe he just came home without you noticing. Can you check?” The next pause seemed to last an hour. Then Marvin made a strange sort of squeak sound. He forced himself to sound calm. “Okay, thank’s for checking. No, it’s fine. You can go back to sleep now. No, seriously, it’s fine. I just wanted to talk to him, but if he’s still out on patrol I can wait. Yes, everything’s fine. Thanks, bye.” He hung up the phone, took a shaky breath, then looked at Chase and JJ. “He’s not there.”

Chase feels a jolt of panic. “B-but that doesn’t mean he got to him? Right? Does it?”

JJ looks grave. _I am…afraid. There’s a chance, but…the odds aren’t in Jackie’s favor._

Marvin shuddered. “Fuck. Fuck, dude. We need to—well, we need to check on Schneep, he was starting to freak out on his end—but then we need to look for Jackie…just to make sure.”

“But…” Chase almost didn’t want to mention it, but it needed to be said. “Marv…if he took him, wouldn’t Jackie be in that-that pocket dimension place you mentioned?”

Marvin paled. “Yeah. But I…I don’t know how to access those yet. I—I need to practice. So we’ll start by checking the city.”

 _If we’re going to check on the doctor, then we’d better do it sooner than later._ JJ stood up. _Never mind the tea, I’ll clean up while Chase gets ready to go._

“James, how are you so…calm?” Chase asked. “I thought you’d be freaking out.”

Jameson looked at him. There was an unusual, hard light in his eyes. _That bastard can have my dreams, but he won’t have the rest of me. I won’t give him the pleasure. And he will not take my friends either._ He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. _Now, let’s go check on the good doctor._

* * *

Jackie opened his eyes, even though he couldn’t remember closing them. He was in the same spot he was before, kneeling on the sidewalk, holding Sam in his hands. But then he looked up. He didn’t see the night sky. He saw a vast expanse of red, no stars, no moon, no sun.

Slowly, he looked around. It was the city. He was still in the northern part, but…it was different. Other than the blood-red sky, that is. The street lamps were gone, and all the buildings were black—still made out of the same materials, stone and wood and steel, but now everything was dark as a void. The glass of the windows were solid white, no longer transparent. He looked toward the center of the city, where the tallest buildings were, and saw their black shapes rising into the sky. There was a constant, low-level hum that he couldn’t ignore. The air tasted metallic, snappy, electric.

“Sam?” Jackie looked down at the little eye. They were still unresponsive, barely glowing. But when he held them close to him, the glow increased the tiniest bit. “Hang in there, buddy.” He stood up, carefully making sure not to drop them. “I’m—I’m gonna get you out of here.” He didn’t know where to go, but he started walking anyway.

The ground didn’t feel solid. Every time he took a step, it felt like it shifted a little beneath his boots, like he was walking on gravel instead of plain gray concrete. There was light coming from…somewhere. Maybe the sky. Or the windows. There was no way to tell.

Suddenly, one of the buildings in the distance _broke._ There was no better way to describe it. One moment it was normal, the next moment the top half of it was sideways. It spazzed out, copies of the building jutting out at different angles, the white windows flickering in and out of existence. It looked like…like a video game glitch. Then the glitch spread, the buildings next to it copying, frantically malfunctioning, bugging. The wave of glitching buildings moved outward, coming right toward Jackie.

“Shit!” Jackie broke into a run. He didn’t care which direction he was heading, he just knew he couldn’t get caught up in the glitch wave. It was gaining speed, coming closer and closer to him, and as it approached the hum grew louder, into an ear-piercing whine. The ground was like sand, and he was running uphill. Every step took too much effort for how little he was moving. He glanced behind him, and the glitch wave was upon him, screeching in his ears. He ducked his head, hugging Sam to his chest. The glitches were around him, he was caught in their wild crashing and screaming. The ground gave up its hold on his boots. He felt like he was being tossed too and fro like a pinball in a pinball machine at the hands of a master. All he could do was curl around Sam and hope they’d both make it out okay.

He slammed into something hard with a painful smack. The glitches subsided. He was laying on the sidewalk—no, now he’s standing up, having not moved at all. How…actually it was probably better to not think about it. Jackie made sure that Sam was still safe, then gathered his bearings, observing his surroundings. It looked like he was in the dark version of the city park, with black, twisted trees and black soil underfoot that felt more solid than the sidewalk had. This was all the way across the city. Exactly what had that glitch wave done?

“This is gonna be harder than I thought, Sam,” Jackie muttered. He didn’t know if the eye could hear him, but it made him feel better to talk. “I guess we’ve just gotta improvise, then.” He started walking once again. Once he reached one of the park paths, he walked alongside it. He was pretty sure that it would be about as reliable as the sidewalk had been, with its not-entirely-there feeling.

He reached the park’s playground. It did not look like it had been made for children. The slides were black metal with holes rusted through them, the monkey bars had spikes on them so you would have to place your hands carefully, the swings were hanging by a single chain each, and the ground was made of sharp metal fragments instead of wood chips. Jackie shuddered. As dangerous as that looked, he had the feeling it could be much worse if it tried.

Something moved. He stopped in his tracks. He hadn’t imagined that, had he? He could have sworn he saw something over by one of the trees. “Who’s there?” he called, knowing it was probably a bad idea if the whatever it was could murder him.

Nothing. And then: “Bobby, I think it’s Uncle Jackie.”

Jackie felt his heart stop. He reached up and pulled off his mask and hood. “Trevor? Is that you?” 

There was the sound of whispering, and then a small boy with his curly blonde hair tucked under a blue cap came running out from behind one of the trees. He ran right into Jackie with a soft thump, wrapping his small arms around him. “Oh!” Jackie gasped. “It-it _is_ you!”

“Trevor!” A slightly bigger girl with shoulder-length brown hair stumbled out from behind the same tree. “You can’t just do that! He could have been the monster!”

“Nu-uh!” Trevor’s reply was muffled from where his face was buried in Jackie’s leg. “I know him when I see him!”

“We thought we knew Dad when we see him too!” Bobby scowled.

With one hand, Jackie reached down and patted Trevor’s head. “You two are…okay? You’re not hurt?”

Trevor looked up at him with wide grey eyes. “Nope. But I’m hungry.”

Still scowling, Bobby marched over to the other two. She grabbed her brother by the hand and pulled him away. “Be careful!” she hissed.

“You two think I’m An—the monster, don’t you?” Jackie asked.

Bobby gave him a glare that could have fired lasers. “You could be.”

“Well, I’m not. I know I can’t prove it, but you have to trust me. I’m here to get you out of here.”

Trevor gasped. “You’re gonna defeat the monster?”

Jackie crouched, getting down to the kids’ eye level. “I’m going to try. But before I do that, I need to make sure you’re safe. Do you know where we are?”

Trevor shook his head. Bobby pulled him closer to her, then said, “Well, if you don’ know you’re maybe not the monster. He says this is his base. Like a supervillain. We walked through a hole in the wall and came out here.”

Jackie had no experience on the matter, but he was willing to bet this was one of those pocket dimensions Marvin had mentioned. Anti’s home base. “The monster hasn’t hurt you?”

Bobby shook her head. “He’s chased us. He said it was a game.”

“Like evil tag,” Trevor piped up. “Only we don’ wanna get tagged.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jackie mumbled. The kids didn’t look hurt, just tired. Obviously he wasn’t a doctor, but they seemed fine. They might need counseling once they got out of this place, but they were physically okay. “Have either of you seen a way to get out of here? Like, another hole like the one you came in through?”

“No,” Bobby said. “But we haven’ been everywhere.”

“Well, then. Tell me where you haven’t been, and we’ll start there.”

Bobby nodded slowly. She still wasn’t entirely sure that Jackie wasn’t the monster, but Trevor liked him so she’d go along with this. Trevor, meanwhile, pointed at Jackie’s chest. “What’re you holdin’?”

Jackie looked down. “Oh! This is Sam. They’re a friend of Uncle Jack’s.” He tilted his hand so that the kids could see Sam, curled up in his palm. “They’re not feeling too good right now.”

“Can I hold them?” Trevor asked.

Jackie thought about it, then nodded. “Sure, for a minute.” He passed the little eye to Trevor, who needed both hands to hold them. For a second, Sam’s optic nerve-tail twitched. They glowed a bit brighter. “I think they like you, Trev!” Jackie smiled. “Why don’t you carry them for a little bit?”

“Really? Okay!” Trevor smiled down at Sam, then gently hugged them. Bobby stared at Sam. “Why are they an eye?” she asked.

“I don’t know, why are you a human?”

She thought about this question, then shrugged. “I think it’s because Mom and Dad are humans. So does Sam have a mom eye and a dad eye?”

“Maybe. Like I said, they’re a friend of Uncle Jack’s. I don’t know that much about them.” Jackie straightened up. “Now. We have to get out of here. I’m counting on you two to show me where to go. Can I trust you to do that?”

Trevor nodded eagerly. “We’ll go to all the new places!” Bobby also nodded, though not as enthusiastically.

“That’s the spirit! Lead the way!”

The two kids scampered off, heading out of the twisted park. Jackie paused for just a moment, looking around. He had a feeling someone was watching him, and he didn’t like it. But he couldn’t deal with that right now. The kids were the priority. He had to make sure they were safe, no matter what. So he turned and followed them.

He didn’t see the green eyes blink open out of thin air behind him. He didn’t hear the giggle, hidden under the constant hum. He didn’t realize everything was happening just as he intended.


	14. The Hole in the Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone’s panicking, Jackie and the kids are in trouble in another reality, where the reality in question is not what it seems, and a glitch in the world appears.

Schneep wasn’t an idiot. When Marvin called—for the first time in a week—asked for Jackie, and then insisted everything was fine when he told him Jackie wasn’t there, he knew something bad had happened. Given that it was Jackie, there were any number of things that could be, but he just knew it was _him._ Why else would Marvin be so evasive? They knew he could hack electronics, he wouldn’t want to give too much away. So, immediately after Marvin hung up, Schneep turned on all the lights in the apartment, barricaded all the doors, and ended up huddled in the far corner of the main living room.

He didn’t actually think any of this would help. If anything, it would just make it difficult if Jackie actually came back. But it made him feel slightly better. His eyes kept darting back and forth between the lights, checking for flickering, the window, checking for shadows, and the kitchenette, checking to see that all the knives were in their proper places.

When a shadow actually did appear in the window, he immediately scrunched up tighter in the corner, not daring to breathe. He watched as the shadow struggled to open the window before falling back. It reappeared, and the lock of the window flashed green. The hands of the shadow lifted the window up, and then the shadow stepped inside…“N-nein!” he gasped, pushing back further.

“Wh—Schneep, no!” Marvin pulled his mask off. “It’s fine, it’s us!”

Schneep took a few deep breaths. It was alright. It was fine, it was just the others. If they were even really here, if this wasn’t a trick—

“Doc, are you okay?” Chase climbed through the window, followed by JJ. “Are you—are you having another one?”

“No, no, I am fine, I am fine!” Schneep closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. This was real. It was. He reopened his eyes and looked at the others. They all looked worried. Chase was half-crouched by him, Marvin was gripping his wand and glancing about uneasily, and JJ was standing slightly behind him. He looked Schneep in the eyes and made a sign like he was shaping a ball with his hands. Schneep felt a wave of relief wash over him. There hadn’t been any electronics around when the two of them had made that signal. That meant it wasn’t a trick at least. “Why did you not come in the door?”

“Well, we thought it would be best to be, uh, discrete. Also you might not have buzzed us in if you were…freaking out.” Chase pointed toward the barricaded door. “Looks like coming in the door wouldn’t have worked anyway. I think we made the right call.”

“Maybe so.” Schneep pushed himself to his feet. “What happened to Jackie?”

“Wh—how did you know?” Chase asked, surprised.

“I know because I am not a fucking moron. When Marvin called me, he sounded so strange, and like he knew Jackie would not be here. So something must have happened to him.”

“Well, fuck, guess I need to work on sounding casual under pressure,” Marvin muttered. Then he sighed, and looked at Schneep with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, but…he took Jackie.”

His heart stopped. He stumbled a bit, ending up leaning against the wall for support. Chase rushed forward and helped steady him. “…thank you, my friend,” Schneep mumbled. 

“Are you doin’ okay? Do you need to sit down?” Chase asked. “I mean, you moved the couch but it still works.”

“I think that would be appreciated.”

Instantly, Marvin and JJ pulled the couch over from where it had been blocking the front door. Chase helped Schneep meet them in the middle, and Schneep collapsed on the cushions. JJ took the seat beside him while Marvin and Chase continued to stand.

“Are you sure?” Schneep asked softly. “Are you completely sure?” He repeated the question in a louder voice.

“At this point…unless he suddenly reappears in the morning or something…yeah…” Marvin said quietly. “I saw him, Schneep. I saw this—this demon or whatever he is. He was following us, and I don’t think he would have given up.”

“We are getting him back, right? We can’t let him—the same thing cannot happen twice! I won’t let it!”

“It’s different than what—than your situation,” Chase hurried to say. “We know what we’re up against this time. And Marvin thinks he knows where he is and could get there. Right?” Chase looked at Marvin pointedly.

“Y-yeah, of course.” Marvin started playing with his wand. “I mean…I haven’t done it yet, but with some practice I’m sure I can.”

“Then practice, Marvin!” Schneep shot to his feet and gripped the magician by the shoulders. “Do not give up until you’ve mastered it! We can’t leave Jackie to that place!”

* * *

“I don’t like this,” Jackie muttered.

He and the kids had been walking for what felt like hours. There was no way to tell how fast or slow time was passing, if it was even passing at all. The sky overhead remained red, and other than them, nothing moved in this bizarro version of the city. There was no noise aside from the constant humming that never died.

“Yeah. It’s creepy,” Trevor agreed, holding Jackie’s hand tighter with one hand and Sam closer with the other.

“We can get used to it,” Bobby said from where she was walking a few steps in front of them. “I don’t recognize this part. I don’t think we’ve been here before.”

“That’s good!” Jackie said. “That means there’s a chance we can find the way out here.” They were starting to approach what would’ve been the edge of the city in the real world. They’d walked what would’ve been east, and by now the buildings were starting to get shorter and farther apart.

“What if we don’t find anything?” Trevor asked. He didn’t sound scared, just curious, but Bobby looked back at him, suddenly wide-eyed.

“Well…then we just need to keep looking,” Jackie said quickly. “If there’s a way in, there’s a way out. How else could the monster get back and forth from this place?”

Bobby exhaled loudly, then nodded, this explanation satisfying her little-kid logic. She faced forward again, walking a bit faster. But Trevor’s question had brought up a point that Jackie hadn’t let himself think about. What if there _was_ no way out? What if this place was meant to be a one-way trip, a final destination? He pushed the thoughts out of his head; they’d do him no good right now, and he couldn’t let the kids catch on that he was worried. That would only scare them.

After a while passed in silence, Trevor piped up, “I think we’re close to the end.”

“Hmm? Why d’you say that, bud?” Jackie asked, looking down at him.

“’Cause there’s a wall up there.”

Jackie looked back up. They’d been walking down a wide street without twisting, so he should be able to see whatever wall Trevor was talking about. But he didn’t. It was just more red, endless amount of red…wait, something was off. The buildings suddenly…ended. The street ended. “C’mon guys,” Jackie muttered, speeding up a bit until he was half running and the kids were racing to keep up with their little legs.

It certainly _looked_ like the buildings and street had ran into a wall. The buildings were cut in half, and the road just stopped like someone had taken a giant ax to it and removed the rest. But there wasn’t a wall at all. It was just more of the red light. But maybe that couldn’t quite explain the effect. The “light” looked more like something caught between energy and smoke. It didn’t move, it simply…hung in the air, like a curtain of mist.

The three of them stopped at the edge of the street. “Bobby, Trevor, you guys mind taking a few steps back?” Jackie asked. They did so. Jackie took off the glove on his right hand, then slowly reached forward, toward the smoke-light. He expected his hand to just go right through, but it stopped. It felt like touching the surface of water, but there were no ripples or changes in the smoke-light at all. And when he tried to push through, his hand simply would not move. “What the fu—heck?” Jackie breathed. He quickly pulled his hand back. There was no lingering sensation of wetness like there would have been if he was touching water, or even jello. It felt wrong. He quickly put his glove back on.

Then, there was a gasp behind him. “Trevor! Uncle Jackie! It’s the hole!”

Jackie spun around. Bobby was holding Trevor’s arm and pointing at a spot on the smoke-light wall some ways away. Jackie followed her gaze to…well, it looked mostly like a hole.

“Let’s get a closer look, guys.” Jackie walked back towards them, then the three of them approached the hole. It was about a foot above the street, and while it started out about the size of a basketball it gradually grew larger until it was big enough for Bobby to walk through without ducking. The edges were…static. Squares of colored static made a rough border, letting out a faint buzzing sound. When they looked through the hole, they could see the night sky.

“What do you think? Does this look like the hole you came through to get here in the first place?” Jackie asked, looking down at the kids.

Bobby nodded, but Trevor scrunched his eyebrows. “But when we went through it, there was red on the other side,” he said.

“Well, that’s because you were coming in here,” Jackie explained. “This goes outside, so it shows the outside. Like a window, or a door.”

“Oh!” Trevor gasped. “Then yeah.”

Jackie bit his lip, thinking. This couldn’t be this easy. They couldn’t have simply _found_ the way out. Anti wouldn’t let them go just like that. Cautiously, Jackie stuck his hand in the hole. Nothing happened. In fact, he could feel a cool breeze through his glove. It _seemed_ legit…but it couldn’t be trusted, could it?

Something tugged on his belt. Jackie looked down to see Trevor staring up at him with wide eyes. “Are we gonna go, Uncle Jackie?”

“Of course we are! It’s the way out!” Bobby said, glaring at Jackie as if to say _how dare you make my brother scared._

Jackie’s will crumpled. He couldn’t let these kids down. He couldn’t crush their hopes. “Yeah, we’re going through. Just—”

“See?!” Bobby marched forward and pulled herself through the hole, landing on the other side with what sounded like the crunch of gravel. She turned around to look at the boys. “Look! I’m out! Now you need to follow me!”

“Alright, alright, we’re coming!” Jackie assured her. He’d planned to go through first, if they went through at all, but now that Bobby was outside he couldn’t just leave Trevor alone. He turned to face the little boy. “You still have Sam?”

“Uh-huh.” Trevor showed Jackie the little eye. Their glow was still worryingly low, but it was brighter than it had been back when they first entered this place.

“Great. You take them through next.”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh. Keep them safe in the crossing. I’ll be right behind you.”

Trevor looked down at Sam, then nodded, determined. He climbed through the hole, falling and landing on the other side. He popped back up, smiling, once again showing Sam to Jackie. Their glow had suddenly strengthened.

“Alright, I’m coming.” Jackie started forward, putting his hand on the edge of the hole so he could pull himself through. Then he gasped and drew it back. It felt _sharp._ Like he’d touched the blade of a knife. The kids hadn’t shown any reaction to touching the edges like that. He’d have to be careful. He looked at the kids on the other side, then reached forward once more—

The hole snapped shut.

Jackie screamed; the edges had closed around his wrist, and it felt like his hand was stuck in a jar of broken glass. He pulled it out and backed away. The last few pixels disappeared, and the hole was gone. Jackie stared at the spot it had been. He wasn’t surprised. But knowing the kids had gotten through before him, and were now once again alone, filled him with an empty panic. He checked his hand real quick. It looked exactly the same as before, but he could still feel the sting from the pixels on the edge of the hole.

The constant hum rose to a whine. He turned around, facing the city at large. The buildings in the distance were spazzing out, glitching, both there and not there. The ones nearby were growing closer and closer together. He felt something push him forward, and he stumbled a few steps before turning right back around. The smoke-light wall was closing in, shrinking the size of the world. He backed away, keeping pace with it.

A mad, broken laugh echoed, coming from far away and right beside him. It was everywhere and nowhere, in his ears and in his head. “S҉o͢ ̷nice o̶f̸ you͡ t̴o j̡̢o҉i̵͞n͠ m̨e̶͞. After͝ ̴all,̵ I̡ ha̴v̨e̷ a ̨sp͠ot ͝op̕e̢n no̡w̢.̴” 

The voice made his blood run cold. He’d never heard it before, but there could be no mistaking who it belonged to. “Anti…” he whispered. No use in being subtle about saying the name if he’s _already_ drawn his attention. “Where are you?!”

The whine was increasing in volume, until Jackie had to cover his ears with his hands just to keep them from bleeding. The glitching from the buildings in the distance spread; another glitch wave was coming. Or rather, glitch waves. This time they were approaching from multiple directions, all converging on the spot where he was standing at the edge of the world. And much faster than before. He couldn’t run, there was nowhere without a glitch. He tried to brace himself against the smoke-light wall, but it suddenly shoved him forward. The waves were coming. Before they hit, he heard the voice again:

“I̲̱͖̮'͇̦m̵͈̦̤͍͟ ͡͏̱̳̲͖̘̻͓̝ͅe͏͍̘̪̭͟v̷̵͔̣͝e͖̤r̴͓̕y͏̝͖̗̣͔̞̥w̸̥̼͉̭̜̞h͏̴͎̮̖̝͖̞e̹̞͍̞͈̰̕͝r̷̭̼̞̟e̛͖̳̲̹̤͕͡.”

Then it all came crashing down. There was no up or down anymore, just endless tossing and throwing as he was lost in the glitch wave once more. Electronic screeching filled the air, if there even was air. He’d lost his breath before it even began.

And with the flick of a switch, it was over, and he was falling. It seemed like he fell forever, but then he landed in water, and it didn’t feel any worse than jumping into a pool. Except it was too deep. Where was up? Where was the surface? His lungs were tightening, he needed air now. He couldn’t see where to go, so he chose the easiest direction and swam and swam and swam until finally he broke through to the surface. But as he coughed and spluttered, he realized it was shallow enough to stand up in…and deep enough to get lost forever in at the same time. How…what just happened? His brain hurt just thinking about it.

Jackie stood up. The water came up to about mid-shin length. He wasn’t in the strange cityscape anymore, now it looked like a square room with metal walls. The floor was maybe six feet by six feet, but the ceiling was far above. He could see holes in it, letting in more of the red light, somehow enough to see. They were also letting in thin streams of water, pooling on the floor of the room but never filling it up, despite the lack of drains.

Wait. Water wasn’t red. Water didn’t smell like copper. “Holy shit,” Jackie gasped. He looked at himself and realized he was drenched in it. “Oh god. Oh fuck.” He covered his mouth and felt like he was going to throw up.

“Hmm,̢ ̕didn’t ̧re̶a̷lize ̕yo͞u̶ ͢had su̵ch a̛ w͢eak ̷st̨om̷ac͏h҉,͢ ̨J̷a̧c͏ķie͞!” Anti’s voice reverberated off the metal walls. “C̢a̕n'̵t ̨st͏a̵n̛d̸ ̕ą ̴l͏it̨t̴le bit̴ o͟f ͟bl̛ood?̢ ̢I͡n ̕y͞ou͡r͡ li̸n͠e̛ ̴o̷f w̛o̡rk͢?̢”

“Jesus christ, you’re fucking sick,” Jackie said, looking around for the source of the voice. It was nowhere to be seen.

Anti laughed again. “T̨h̵̡̕at͏͞ ̵w͏̸̵as͡n̷'ţ͠͞ o̢̢͞bv̴̡͡i̕o͠us ͟t͠͏҉o ̛y̨̛oų̧ ̸a̶̢lre͞ad͢͠y̷͝?҉!”

Jackie decided to just not think about it. That would be better for everyone. Moving on. “Okay, you know what? Shut up. You already separated me from the kids, great, good for you. Why did you even take them in the first place?! Did you just want to make Chase panic?”

“A͠h̸ ͢a̷ḩ ah~” Anti said in a singsong voice. “Y̶o͠u͏ have̸n’t ̛e͡ar͠n҉ęd t̨h͟a̕t̷ y͞et͞.̸ ̷And clear͡ly ͝yo͞u ̕can̡'ţ fi̛g͠u͏r̕e͝ ̶i͟t out on͞ ҉y̸our ̛o͢w̸n.”

Jackie clenched his fists. “I swear to god if you try to go after them again—”

“Ev͝er ͡th̨e͝ h̷e̴ro.̸ ͝S̷o̸ c͡ari̸n͡g.” Jackie started, then backed away until he hit one of the walls. It sounded like his voice was right next to his ear. “Even ̶whe͏n̶ t̵he ones ̕you'r͏e c͟a͝r̨ing̴ ͞ab͡o̸u̢t ̧aren̴'̛t̸ e͢v҉ęn r͠eal.͞”

Jackie couldn’t respond to that. He tried, but his mind had suddenly gone blank, whited out with a fear he couldn’t put a name to. After a while, he managed to get out a simple “Wh…what?”

“N͠o̴t ̕yet!̢” The voice drifted away, floating up. “I̢f ̨y͢o̷u͏ can ̶find ̴your͟ ̴way̶ ǫut w̕itho̧ut ̸n͏ee͢d҉i͞n͝g hel̸p, I'͢ll re̢wa̡rd ͏y͠ou wit҉h ̧an ̕exp̸la͝n͢a͟tio̸n.͡”

“Out?!” Jackie looked around. There were no windows or doors, nor were there any marks in the walls at all. Maybe something was hidden on the floor, but Jackie didn’t want to go searching around in…that. It was gross, and besides, he’d nearly drowned. Somehow. The only entrances to the room were the holes in the ceiling, high above.

Maybe the streams were the key. They were coming from outside, through the holes. He didn’t want to touch them, but he guessed he had no choice. He sloshed through the liquid to the nearest one, then really quickly ran his hand under it. But it didn’t…work? The stream moved in one solid line when he batted at it, like it was…a rope hanging from the ceiling.

“Oh fuck you,” Jackie muttered. He reached out and grabbed it. It felt slimy, clinging to his glove in goop strands. But it had a solid core underneath that. He gagged, then grabbed a section of the stream high above and pulled. One hand over the other, like climbing a rope in high school gym class. He’d never really been any good at that, so he counted himself lucky that he’d built his upper body strength through the years. One hand over the other, pulling up, legs wrapped around the…he didn’t want to think about it…but legs wrapped around it for a stronger hold. One hand over the other, and what seemed like an eternity later he pulled himself out of the hole and onto the ceiling of the room. The stream had apparently been coming from a tiny puddle, just an endless supply being produced by a source barely as big as his hand. Uh…sure. He was starting to catch on that physics weren’t a thing here.

Now he was standing on a slab of rusted metal, looking out at other slabs of various sizes and thickness, seemingly floating in the red light, stretching forever. He noticed he was perfectly dry, then leaned over the side and shuddered. He’d cured himself of his fear of heights a long time ago, but there was just something about looking down into an endless red abyss and knowing that if he made one wrong move he’d be falling forever that brought that fear back.

A hiss. A glitch. And suddenly there were lines of humming static floating in the air. The slabs were rotating, floating past, their edges fading away into pixels. “G͡o̷o̷d̕ ͠j̴o̴b̸,” Anti said, sounding almost sincere. “Y̴ou̢ ̧w҉ant̸ y̶our̶ p͠r̵įze̵ n̡o͠w?”

Jackie tensed. He didn’t want to play his game. But at the same time, he wanted answers. He wrestled with this dilemma for a second, hands on hips, the blurted out, “What did you mean the kids weren’t real? Were they illusions? Did you trick me?”

“N̵o ̧il͡l̛u͡s̕i͟o̢n̵s o͝f ͏ _m̡i̵ne_ ,” Anti hissed. “B̴ut th͞e ̧r̕e҉s͟ult̕ is̵ t̨he̵ s̕am̢e͝. ͞Tho͢se̴ ̢c͢hild͠re͟n͠ ar͟e le͝s͟s̵ re̢a̵l̸ than ̵you, ̸a͢nd͞ I'͡d̢ ͟say͡ ̡y̸ou̧’re ̕r͟idi̡ng̴ ̶the͡ edge ͏of uņr͟eal̨įt͠y͡ now m̸o҉re t̨han ̡eve͝r.”

Jackie had expected Anti to gloat. To lord over him the fact that he’d fallen for his scheme. But now he was just confused. “No riddles! Give me a straight answer!”

“How l̷on͝g ḩa̢s ̛i͞t be͡en since ̧the̢y'̶vȩ seen ̨yǫu̧? ̧Ţw͡o ̛ye̷ar̕s a͟t t͝hi͢s͏ p̴oin̕t̢, I̸ ͠b͏eli̡eve̕.”

“Wha—who are you talking about?”

“L͝e̵t m̛e͏ ̷s͏h͝o̢w you͟…”

A metallic screech rang through the static, and Jackie looked down to see the metal beneath his feet cracking, breaking apart. Fighting down a sudden surge of panic, he jumped to another slab that was floating by, just in time to watch the one he was standing on crumble away, pieces falling down…down…down…

Then pictures appeared in the air. They looked more like holograms than anything else, flat and rotating of their own will. Each one gave off sound, voices mixing. The slab he was standing on floated next to one. “What…is that Henrik?” He would recognize him anywhere. He had that turquoise hair, the color it had been before he disappeared. “Is he playing a game?” It looked like one of Jack’s videos, facecam in the corner, game on screen. Except Schneep seemed to be taking it much more seriously than a game. Jackie watched in confusion as the video progressed, game and facecam glitching. _I need your help! Save him! Save Jackse—͠A͡n̷t̷i._

“W͞atc͡h ̡y͠our ̡fe̵ȩt ţh̡er̶e.” Jackie looked down to see once again the slab falling apart, and once again he jumped to the nearest one. This one floated by another holographic picture…

“Chase?!” It looked just like one of Chase’s videos, but Jackie could tell very quickly something was wrong. _This one’s called, ‘Stacy I love you, please don’t go.’ Bang!_ Jackie gasped, almost backing off into the abyss in his shock. “What is this?! Are you mocking me? Mocking us?!”

“I̸ dįd̡n͏’t ev͞e͡n ̶mak̴e͡ ̧th̸e̕se̷ vi̵ḑeo͟s͞,” Anti said casually. “̕L̢ook̴ ou͢t̴ b̕ȩlow.” 

Once again the slab crumbled, and Jackie was forced to jump to a different one that brought him past yet another video. And so it went, for god only knows how long. Scratch that. For only Anti knows how long. The lines of the videos blended together in his mind, and at some point mixed with an eerie singing of a song he almost knew.

_…instead, what I’m gonna do is color in this mask…_

“Wh͞e҉n I̢ ̶ca͏n'̸t ev̴en ̧rea͡d my͞ ow̸n stor̢y̢”

_…a-hem, 100% real doctor here…_

“What ͢g͢o͠od̵ ͞are wo͝rḑs wh̢en̴ a̷ s͝m͝il͠e ͟says̡ it̢ ͟all? _”_

_…I just want to go back to when I was happy…_

“And̸ i͏f h͖i̶̗s̬̥͎ w͡o̸r̡l͞d ̨won̕'t͢ w̢rite̡ ͟me ͝my̨ en͞di̸ng̨”

_…come on Gerald! It’s time to die!…_

“W̡h̕a͡t ̡will ͞it̛ ͠take just͟ fo̴r m͟e̷ to h̷ave it͢ ͠al͡l͞?͠”

_…probably not! But I want to get further into the deep web…_

“I don’t understand…” Jackie said quietly. These…these videos were sparking memories. They were almost things that happened, but different. Dramatized, shown through the lens of games and fun videos online. His skin crawled. It felt wrong.

“I̧sn'̕t i̧t̶ ob͞v̷io̧u͏s, ̕J̢ack͏ie̢boy Ma̡n?̨” His chosen name sounded even more ridiculous in his voice. “Y̴o̧u͡'̸re̡ ͢n͝o̕t r͢e͏a҉̷͟l̵.”

“Impossible.”

“N̵͝o͢͡ne̶̵͞ ̷̢o̴f͢ ͏̶y̡̛oư̸ ͢a̶͞re̴.̕͢ Ju̕s̨t͞ fra̢gm̵e͡nts ͞o̸f im̨a̧gin̕a̧tion͝, cr̴eat͟ed̴ ̷by͡ o҉ne̸ ͡m͢an who̵ ̶co̡u̡ld̨n'̷t ̛give̛ a ̡sh͡i̕t about ̕you̢r̛ ͢su͠ffe̛r͟ing.͠”

“You’re lying! You’re trying to trick me, to—”

“I'm̡ ̕b͠e̢ing ̡mo͢re ͞ḩo͡n̨est t̕h͝an e͢v̡er͝. ̢Y̴o͞u͢'re ̕a b̸it mo̕r̕e re̴sist͠a̧nt ̸t̢han ͟th̢e d͟oc̛tor̛, ̴but ̧he saw͠ ̛the̕ ̷tr̛uth͢ in t̨h͞e en̛d͡.͏ You͢r̨ ̧r͏e̷a͏li͡t͏y ̨i͠s a͞ lie. ̨You̵’re ͝fak͏e̡,͞ fan͏t̢as̸y̛. Accept̵ thi͞s͢ ̷f̕a͏ct̸, a͏nd ͢I p͏ro͏mise life i̵n͢ t̛his ͞wor̴l̵d wil̕l̢ b̛e m͝u͢ch easi̸e̡r ̶f̕or yo͝u̶.̵”

Jackie closed his eyes and covered his ears. Childish, perhaps, but it worked. “I won’t let you get to me,” he muttered. “I won’t let you get to me. I won’t let you get to me.”

Silence. And then: “Not a g̨o̕od i̴dea͢ ͢to̕ clos͢e yo̷uŗ eye̢s.”

For a moment, he thought Anti was talking about some weird, metaphysical sense of closing your eyes. But then the ground beneath his feet began to shake. His eyes flew open, and he saw the metal he was standing on falling away like sand in an hourglass. It was too far gone. There was nothing to jump to in range. The last of it gave out—

“ I'l͢l let yo͞u̶ h̡ąve̵ fun͢ ͟with ̢that͞.”

—and he fell.


	15. Ignorance Is Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are scrambling to figure out how to reach Jackie. Meanwhile, those two detectives are starting to realize things in the world aren’t what they thought.

“Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up,” Lydia whispered, listening to the phone ring on the other side. She’d already tried calling Malcolm’s cell three times, and nobody answered. Now she was resorting to calling his roommate.

After some time, the line picked up. “Hello?”

Lydia let out a deep breath of relief. “Hi, Benji. Is Malcolm home? I’ve been trying to call him for an hour now and he hasn’t picked up.”

“Oh yes, he’s been home for a while. Shut up in his room, though. Do you want me to go get him?”

“Yes, thank you.” Lydia waited in silence, tapping her fingers nervously on the arm of her couch she was sitting on. It was quiet in her apartment, with Rachel having already gone to bed. Over the line she heard footsteps and then a knock on the door, followed by quiet conversation.

“Hey, Lyd, what’s up?” Malcolm’s voice had a shaky note to it. “It’s pretty late, what’re you calling for?”

“Just making sure you got home alright after the late shift,” Lydia said slowly. “Y’know, with how far away you live from the station.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I took a shortcut. Is that everything?”

Lydia bit her lip. “Why weren’t you picking up, then? I called your cell three times before I decided to call Benji.”

“My phone…broke,” Malcolm said slowly. 

“Broke?!”

“Broke. While I was on the way home.” A pause. “Anything else?”

“What’s wrong, Malcolm?” Lydia asked.

“Noth-nothing’s wrong!”

“I know you well enough to tell when something’s up,” Lydia said in a low voice. “And I can tell that you’re kinda freaked out right now. So what’s wrong?”

For a moment, there was nothing but interference on the phone line. And then: “Do you…want to meet up tomorrow? I know we have the day off, and maybe…we could meet at the park? Around one or one-thirty? And I can tell you what happened then.”

“You can just…tell me over the phone—”

“No!” Lydia had to lean back from the phone after that word was screamed in her ear. “I—I mean, no, that’d probably be a bad idea. Actually, when we meet up, can you leave your phone at home?”

“Why on Earth—”

“Lydia. Trust me on this.”

Malcolm’s tone silenced her. “Alright, then. I’ll see you tomorrow, one o’clock?”

“Yeah. Bye, Lyd. See ya tomorrow.”

* * *

Since they weren’t working that day, Lydia didn’t wear the pantsuit she wore for work. But, she noted, her button-down shirt was still more professional than the purple hoodie Malcolm wore every chance he got. He was currently hiding in the hood, avoiding looking at her while the two of them sat on one of the benches next to a path. “So…?” Lydia prompted.

Malcolm sighed. “I…fuck, I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, it can’t be that hard.” When Malcolm didn’t answer, Lydia sighed and continued. “Look, you weren’t this on edge when you left the station last night. So something must’ve happened between you leaving there and getting home. Your phone…broke, or whatever, so does that have anything to do with this? I bet if you just share what’s on your mind, you’ll feel better. Or if you don’t, I can help you out with whatever it was.”

“I saw a demon,” Malcolm blurted out.

Lydia blinked. “Uh, that was a serious offering, Mal.”

“No no no, really,” Malcolm hurried to say. “So, I took a shortcut through the north part of town—”

“Are you insane?! Do you even know how many dispatches are sent there every _week_?!”

“Yeah, yeah, but nothing’s ever happened to me there. I know the spaces to avoid. But, uh, I ended up seeing that vigilante in red. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I just…followed him. And, well…”

Lydia listened in silence as Malcolm spilled out everything that happened the previous night. From the vigilante meeting with that magician, the suspect in the Brody case, to the vigilante turning out to be Jackie Parker, another part of the case, to the most insane details: the magician destroying Malcolm’s phone with what was apparently real magic, to him running home, and seeing something out of the corner of his eye…

“It was a demon, I know it was,” Malcolm finished, eyes wide. “It—it disappeared, but I could hear it, like—like static. And I think it was smiling at me.”

Lydia leaned back, staring at her partner. “Mal, are you off your meds?”

“No, no, I am not!” Malcolm slapped his leg with the flat palm of his hand. “This is a different issue! I’ve just had all of my _life_ and _beliefs_ thrown out of balance, because fucking demons don’t exist, except they do! Fuck!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, dude,” Lydia patted his back in a soothing manner. She didn’t quite understand what was happening. The two of them were skeptics, they’d always been, but now Malcolm was shaking like a leaf and claiming he’d seen magic.

“You don’t believe me,” Malcolm said, narrowing his eyes.

“Well…no,” Lydia admitted. “Honestly, I would be calling Benji and asking him if you’d really been taking your medication, if you hadn’t insisted I leave my phone at home.”

“I think it can use phones to watch people,” Malcolm said, folding his arms and shrinking a bit. “And I know that sounds like a paranoid delusion, but it’s the only conclusion I’ve drawn for everything that happened.”

Lydia sighed deeply. “Look, if you’re sure about this, then I’m not gonna talk you out of it. But I’m gonna ask you to double-check with Benji about the meds.”

“Alright, alright,” Malcolm relented. “But I’m pretty sure I’ve been taking them like I’m supposed to.” He stood up. “And now I’m gonna…I’m gonna go home, if that’s alright with you. I don’t…really feel like being out and about.”

Lydia nodded. “Fair enough. Get some rest, dude. I’ll see you later.” After Malcolm had walked out of sight, she too stood up, and started in the opposite direction. She really didn’t believe his story about magic and demons. But she did believe that he saw the vigilante meet with that magician. And that he figured out who the vigilante actually was beneath that costume. Technically, she wasn’t on duty today. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t, say, go visit a certain Mr. Parker in a certain apartment. 

She didn’t want to arrest the vigilante like some of the more extreme members of the department did. She just wanted him to stop, and leave the crime-fighting to the ones whose job it was. This wasn’t a comic book; running around in a mask and hooded jumpsuit just made you look like an idiot, even if you’d managed to actually catch a fair number of criminals. It didn’t matter what the end result was, just what you did to get there. And vigilantism put yourself and others in danger.

Not to mention, if she went to talk to him…he could tell her what really happened last night with Malcolm. He could tell her that her best friend wasn’t losing it. Or maybe he could tell her he was, but support her in the efforts to help him.

But first, she needed to stop by her apartment. She’d need backup for this.

* * *

“So, let me get this straight,” Rachel said, not taking the eyes off the road while she drove. “Malcolm follows this vigilante last night. Finds out who he is, and that he’s meeting with someone wanted by the police. Then he gets caught eavesdropping, the guy steals his phone, blasts it with bloody green lightning, am I getting that right?”

“Yep,” Lydia nodded. “We’re getting close to the apartment complex, by the way.”

“I see. And, after he sees this happen, he seeing a…floating eyeball?”

“That’s what he said.”

“And gets threatened by the wanted man, runs, and sees a demon that can apparently use phones as its own personal spy cameras.”

“Yep.”

Rachel whistled. “And now you’re planning on confronting this vigilante man in the hopes that he can corroborate Malcolm’s story?”

“No, I’m confronting the vigilante man in the hopes that he can explain what happened, and I can talk him out of crime-fighting.”

“And you need me for this?”

“Figured I might,” Lydia shrugged. “You have your whole lawyer-talk thing going on. You can be pretty persuasive.”

“Aw, thank you, love. Is this the building?”

“Yeah, just pull up in that lot over there, we can walk.”

A few minutes later, the two of them were outside Jackie Parker’s apartment door, knocking. Or, more accurately, Lydia was banging on the door while Rachel was standing off to the side, watching with a resigned look. “Mr. Parker, I know you’re in there!” Lydia was shouting. “I really need to talk to you! Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything.”

“I think that would make him think he was, wouldn’t it?” Rachel pointed out.

Lydia made a shush sound. After a few silent seconds, she continued banging, even harder this time. “Parker, open up! This is really important! So I’m demanding at this point that you open this door!”

The door swung open. Not all the way open, but enough for a person to stick their head out of the apartment inside “Will you ever learn how to manners, detective?!”

Lydia blinked in surprise. “You’re not Parker. You’re that doctor fellow. What are you doing here?”

He scowled, folding his arms. It was indeed the same doctor from last week, just wearing a turtleneck sweater instead of a hoodie, with the addition of a pair of glasses. “Well, I live here,” he said sharply.

“You do not. You have an apartment on Greenway.” Lydia narrowed her eyes. “Though I suppose it’s possible that a mysterious disappearance for _nine entire months_ with no explanation _whatsoever_ could lead to them selling it.”

“Precisely.” The doctor adjusted his glasses. “Now, what is so important that the police have come to break down my friend’s door?”

Rachel poked her head in between the two, making Lydia realize that she’d been subconsciously leaning closer to the doctor, edging in. “Well, it’s not the police actually. Hi, my name is Rachel Kikelomo, are you that doctor with the strange last name that Lydia won’t shut up about for the past week?”

The doctor took a step back. “If she has been complaining about a Dr. Schneeplestein, then yes, I think I am. And…you are not a member of the police, are you?”

“Well, technically I’m a member of the judicial system, being a lawyer and all,” Rachel said coolly. “But I’m not here in that capacity. And Lydia is not here as a detective, since today she is off-duty.”

Lydia coughed awkwardly. “Rachel is my…partner. She drove me here and is…support.”

“Ah! I see!” The doctor raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Well, in that case, this is slightly better. We have had enough of police running around. But you are looking for Jackie, are you not?”

Lydia nodded.

“I—I’m afraid he’s not here.”

“Not here?!” Lydia repeated incredulously. “Where else could he be?”

“Well, he has a job, you understand.”

There was something more to it. Lydia noticed the way the doctor’s shoulders had tensed, the way he was very deliberately blocking her view of the rest of the apartment, the way his voice had cracked. “Well, can I have his cell number to call him then?” she said calmly.

“I do not think—I do not think he would appreciate me giving that out to you.” The doctor shifted on his feet.

“Well, I guess that’s understandable.” Lydia leaned forward. “But what isn’t, is the fact that you seem to be hiding something.”

The doctor bristled. “I do not appreciate such accusations.”

“It’s not an accusation if it’s the truth.”

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, then decided against it. She took a step back. She’d been with Lydia long enough to know when she was getting ready to do something rash.

“Even if it was, which it isn’t,” the doctor continued, “since you are not on duty, and would not have a warrant anyway, you must leave when I ask you to, and cannot come inside.”

“Oh, really?” Lydia backed up a few steps, looking for all the world like she was retreating. And then she rushed forward and threw her weight against the door. It flew open, and she landed flat on her face inside the apartment. She groaned. Honestly, she’d been expecting more resistance, apparently the doctor wasn’t as strong as she’d thought, which still wasn’t that strong.

She climbed to her feet and looked around the apartment living area. This was the second time she’d been in here, and it looked basically exactly the same. Not only because the furniture and everything was the same, but also because the same collection of people were inside. Brody was curled up asleep on the beanbag, arms wrapped around his head like he was protecting himself from something. Sitting on the couch was a man who she couldn’t quite remember the name of, but who was dressed in a fancy vest and bow tie. His hands were frozen in midair, apparently having been interrupted in the middle of making a gesture of some sort. Next to him was—it was that crazy magician fellow. He was holding a black wand with white tips in his right hand, and had a strange book open, propped against his left hand. Both of them were staring at her like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“I’m really terribly sorry about all this,” Rachel sighed, entering the apartment. “Are you alright doctor? She pushed you right over.”

“Yes, I am—I am fine,” the doctor said, sitting up from where Lydia had knocked him down in her rush to get into the apartment. He accepted Rachel’s offered hand and let her pull him to his feet.

The magician snapped his book shut. “What the fuck are _you_ doing here?” he growled.

“Well, certainly not looking for _you,_ ”Lydia growled right back. “I just wanted to find Mr. Parker. Though, you know, now that I’m thinking about it, you could probably tell me the same things.”

“Nope, not doing this, goodbye.” The magician stood up, but was interrupted from leaving when the other man—Lydia was pretty sure his name started with a J—grabbed his arm. The magician looked down and watched as the man made some gestures, too quick for Lydia to catch but apparently he understood perfectly. “Fine. Fine, _one_ chance.” He plopped back onto the couch and glared at Lydia.

She sighed deeply. “Look, Mr. Moore, if I’d seen you even just yesterday, I one hundred percent would be calling the police right now. But apparently Malcolm heard you talking with the vigilante last night—who turned out to be Mr. Parker—about finding the Brody kids and getting them back, so now I’m in doubts that your confession was actually real.”

“Well, I really confessed, didn’t I? It’s not like one of my friends was about to get detained and most likely ultimately arrested, probably eventually giving in to his _clinical depression_ again, and thus probably giving the real culprit what he wanted, which pressured me into saying whatever I had to in order to make sure that didn’t happen.”

Lydia truly, honestly didn’t know how to respond to that dump of information and sarcasm. Luckily, Rachel jumped in. “So it sounds to me as if you were just protecting your friend there,” she said. “Possibly not only from the police, but from whoever really took the Brody children?”

The magician stared at her. “I didn’t say I knew who took the kids.”

Rachel chuckled. “I never said you were implying you did. But the fact that you assumed that says a lot.”

“Well…fuck.” He slumped a bit deeper into the couch cushions. The other man next to him was smiling. “Don’t give me that look, JJ. That’s called a ‘shit-eating grin’ and it’s not something you give to your friends.” The man—JJ, apparently—gestured more. “Oh, shut up.”

“You _know_ who took the kids?!” Lydia gaped. “Well, why didn’t you tell us?! We could’ve used that lead, and avoided almost arresting him.” She pointed at where Brody was sleeping. “He must look a lot like you guys, if we believe the security footage. Is that why you didn’t say anything? Because you thought ‘there are already five of us, they won’t believe one more exists’?” 

The doctor coughed. “It is bit more…complicated than that, I’m afraid.”

“What? Are you all quintuplets or something?” Lydia threw her hands up in the air. “Can’t get any more absurd than this!”

“Ah, love,” Rachel piped up. “Do you still want to see the vigilante man? I thought you intended to confront him at some point.”

Lydia had almost forgotten about the fact that she now knew who the vigilante in red was. “Yes, yes I do,” she said. “Is he really at work? Or are you all just hiding here like—like cowards?”

Silence. The three awake men exchanged sad looks. “He’s…not at work,” the magician admitted. “But he’s…not…here, either.”

Lydia took in the sad glances, the awkward explanation. “…something happened, didn’t it?” she asked softly. “Something happened to him.”

“The less you know, the safer you are,” the magician said, tapping the wand against his leg. “But…yeah. We’re…working on fixing that. Have been since last night, actually. Chase gave in and crashed, as you see. But the rest of us…”

“I’m…sorry,” Lydia whispered. She’d just barged right in here, in the middle of their crisis situation, and unknowingly made everything worse. You’d think that she’d learn how to think things through in her years as a detective, but nope. She’d always trusted the thinking to Malcolm.

The silent man, JJ, made a few small gestures. “He wants to let you know it’s okay, you didn’t know,” the magician said. “It’s, uh, sign language.”

“I see,” Lydia said. She wanted to ask more, to know more, but she couldn’t tread on their hearts anymore. But… “Just…one more thing. Last night, Malcolm said he ran into Parker and you, and he…saw some strange things.”

The magician raised an eyebrow. “You mean, like this?” He snapped his fingers, and a small burst of green sparks and fire flew out from the site of impact.

“Holy shit!” Lydia gasped, stumbling back a few steps.

“Hmm, wha…?” There was a sudden surge of movement as Brody opened his eyes and stretched. “Wha’s happ’ning?”

“Good morning, Chase!” The doctor waved from his spot by the door. “Or should I say good afternoon, because you fell asleep earlier this morning. Sorry about the commotion, I think the detective was just leaving?”

“Detective?” Brody blinked the tired out of his eyes and stared at Lydia with no recognition whatsoever.

“Yes, the detective lady,” the doctor continued. “From the case about the kids. She wanted to talk to Jackie, though I’m still not sure why.”

“Th’ kids?” Brody looked confused for a moment more before suddenly bolting straight into a sitting position. “Fuck, right, the kids! Oh my god, I’m so—god, I must really be tired, damn, I can’t believe I forgot they—fuck, I’m horrible.”

“You are not horrible, you have a lot on your mind, and just woke up.” The doctor walked over and sat on the beanbag next to Chase. “Is fine.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Brody rubbed his eyes, then looked over at Lydia. “Did you…want to talk about something?”

“It wasn’t about the case,” Lydia hurried to say. “It’s just—my partner, last night he saw your friends talk, and then some…unusual stuff happened, and I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t…imagining things.” She glanced over at the magician. “But apparently, he was right. Magic is real, I…fuck.” She looked at Rachel. “Tell me I didn’t hallucinate that.”

“The sparks?” Rachel looked a bit pale. “You did not. That is…some new things to take into account…”

“Yeah, no shit.” Lydia was starting to feel a bit dizzy, which was to be expected when one’s world got totally turned upside-down. Magic was real…she looked at the magician. “If…you really can do that, then…Malcolm, my partner, he saw some more things. A floating eyeball—”

“Sam,” Brody said. “They…were with Jackie. We need to find them too.”

Ah. It had a name. And existed. Fantastic. Lydia could feel a stress headache blossoming. “He also thought he saw…he said it was a demon, following him?”

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed, becoming sharper, more tense. All of the men exchanged glances. JJ signed something. “He said don’t think about it,” the magician translated. “Or, well, it sounded a bit more polite the way he spelled it out. But that’s the gist.”

Lydia stared. “Are you telling me…that demons exist?”

JJ signed something else, very rapidly. “They do, but this isn’t…that,” the magician translated once more. “It’s very complicated.”

“I beg your pardon, but why can’t we learn more?” Rachel asked. “Wouldn’t that be better to prepare ourselves?”

“Not when knowing this thing can draw his attention to you,” the doctor said in a hushed voice. “Not when he gets stronger the more people know. And quite a few know already.”

“Ignorance is bliss,” Brody said. “Really. Just forget about it, and you’ll be fine. Tell your partner to forget too.”

“I…don’t quite get it, but I’ll believe you, I guess,” Lydia said slowly. Maybe she should just forget this whole thing ever happened. Go about her business like nothing had changed. It would probably be better for her mental health that way. “Rachel, I’m ready to go now. You?”

“Yes, yes, we should,” Rachel backed out the door, and Lydia followed her. “Thank you for accommodating us.”

“It was no trouble,” the doctor muttered, clearly implying it was.

“Alright, well,” Lydia said awkwardly. “Guess I might be seeing you?”

“Hope you don’t!” The magician called, earning himself a smack on the ear from JJ.

“Yeah, well, same, honestly. Bye.” Lydia shut the door.

The boys listened to her and Rachel’s footsteps recede down the hall. When they could no longer be heard, Marvin opened up the book again. “Okay, let’s give it a couple more go’s,” he said.

 _Are you quite sure about that?_ JJ asked. _You’re starting to develop those black bags under your eyes. Practicing all night without sleep can’t be good for your soul and body._

“I’ll be fine,” Marvin shrugged. “I think learning how to open dimensional portals is a bit more important than sleep.”

“Jamie is right,” Schneep said. “If you do not sleep, you are no good to anyone.”

“Says the guy who runs on coffee like a car runs on oil.” Chase rolled his eyes. “Hypocrite.”

“Cars don’t run on oil,” Marvin pointed out.

“Oh, shut your face, I’m tired.” Chase yawned, as if to accentuate this. “I was having a good time, and then that detective lady and that other one woke me up. Who was that, again? Did she ever introduce herself?”

“That lady was a lawyer, and she was the detective’s girlfriend,” Schneep explained. “At least, I assume so. She was introduced as a partner, in that sort of awkward way you do when you are not sure where the other party stands.”

“I see,” Marvin hummed. He gripped his wand tightly and swirled it in a circle. Green whisps appeared and whirled about for a few seconds before dissipating. Marvin frowned. “That was a fluke, it didn’t even get close but I can do it better next time.”

 _I don’t believe you can,_ JJ signed with a sigh. _I think you’re severely draining your energy, and you should really sleep in order to recover it._

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, which could be soon if I don’t figure out how the fuck to get Jackie back and stick it in that—that glitch bitch’s face.”

Chase wheezed, and then leaned over as he devolved into laughter. “Okay, okay, I love it,” he said after a while. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in ten months.”

“He would not like that.” Schneep sounded vaguely amused by the idea.

JJ shook his head. _Clearly, you are all loopy from lack of sleep. We all need to go to bed, NOW._ He emphasized the “now” part by making the sign a bit sharper than it normally would be.

“Okay, fine, maybe you’re right,” Chase relented. “Marv, bedtime.”

“Don’t try to dad me, it’s not gonna work,” Marvin grumbled, rereading the instructions for the spell.

“Do not make me count to five,” Schneep added with a smile.

“Two dads! Ay!” Chase made finger guns. “Now you have to listen.”

Marvin closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “Alright, fine.” He closed the book. “But once I wake up, I’m going straight back to working on this. We’re gonna have to double up if we want to use the beds here. Dibs on the one in Jackie’s room.”

Yet, he still couldn’t sleep, even an hour after everyone else had crashed. It wasn’t for lack of trying, or for lack of exhaustion. But he couldn’t stop thinking. His thoughts kept whirling through his mind in a cyclone, unable to halt for one minute. It seemed like everyone had been pretty safe during the week he was away. Nothing had happened until he ran into Jackie and Sam, and now look at where Jackie was.

Maybe…maybe there was a reason for that. He was the only one of the group with power. And he was the only one who…maybe stood a chance against _him._ Maybe that was enough to earn his attention.

He slipped out of the bed. He grabbed a pen and piece of paper from on top of one of Jackie’s dressers, scribbling a note to the others before creeping out into the main living area of the apartment. He put the note on the coffee table, then opened the window to the fire escape and climbed through.

He’d find a solution on his own. And if he drew Anti’s attention to him in the process, what of it? At least then it would be away from the others. At least this way, they’d be a little bit safer. They wouldn’t know anything about where he was or what he was doing, and it would be fine that way. After all, not knowing was a blanket of protection.

* * *

In another world entirely, someone was watching him leave through a broken computer screen, the only one that was lit up on top of a pile of more shattered screens. Its plug was dangling limply, but the picture was crystal clear. He was screaming at Marvin, telling him to turn around, to go back so he could protect them, to remember that there was safety in numbers. When Marvin didn’t listen, he banged his fist against the screen in a fit of frustration, making the image cut off entirely. Tears were threatening the corners of his eyes.

The pile shifted beneath his feet. When he tried to stand up, cords wrapped around his wrists. When he tried to kick his feet free, wires wrapped around his ankles. There was laughter, more laughter, seemingly as ever-present as the red glow all around. The cables dragged him down and he disappeared.


	16. Enough is Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin’s run away AGAIN, so the others have to go find him. And while out looking, Schneep has an…encounter.

“Is he insane?!”

“Honestly? I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re all losing it.”

“Chase this is not a time for jokes.” Schneep reread Marvin’s note for a third time before crumpling it into a ball and pitching it at the nearest wall. “Aaugh! ‘Safer without him,’ that is bullshit! If anything, we would be safer with him here. But no, he decides to go ahead and fucking leave the moment we get him back!”

 _That’s something he would do,_ JJ remarked wryly.

“But it is not something he _should_ do,” Schneep grumbled, folding his arms.

 _I never said it was,_ JJ pointed out. _And, because it is something he shouldn’t do, I propose we undo what he’s done._

“You mean…go find him?” Chase laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um, last time he disappeared, it was only because of luck, and maybe Sam, that we found him again. How are we going to find him this time?”

 _Well, we need to try, don’t we?_ JJ signed. _We can’t just let him go out into the city on his own, especially not when you-know-who is active again._

“Jameson is right,” Schneep said, pacing about the floor. “We must find him again, or risk losing two of our friends. Does anyone know places he likes to visit?”

Chase shook his head. “Nothing’s really coming to mind. Jays?”

JJ had taken out his pocket watch and was fiddling with the chain. He stopped to sign, _He might have found some of the underground magic circles while he was away._

“Wait, wait, did you just…did you just say ‘underground magic gatherings’?” Chase repeated.

JJ nodded. _Of course. You didn’t think Marvin was the only magician, did you? There are many of them, and I’m sure that, given his runaway status at the time, Marvin would have been attracted to those pockets that gather on the edge of society, where many frequent._

“Well then, how do we find these places?” Schneep asked, stopping his pacing, eyes glued to JJ.

 _I’m…not quite sure._ The signs were slow, hesitant. _There are a variety of hidden places to find, and they could be in any location, not to mention they could constantly shift in order to stay out of unkind eyes. We might have best luck just wandering around until we see something off._

“We can do that, then,” Schneep said definitively. “Come on, no time like the present.” He started toward the door.

“Doc, wait,” Chase called. “This…this is a little fast, isn’t it?”

Schneep halted. He whirled on Chase. “What? Are you saying we should waste time twadeling our thumbs?! Is Marvin not your friend too?!”

“I didn’t say that at all!” Chase protested. “I’m just saying we might need a more definitive plan! I know that’s rich, coming from me, but you know what? You’re always saying that it’s no good to anyone if we collapse from exhaustion or hunger or something, and I dunno about you but my head is still kinda fuzzy and I want to get it un-fuzzed before we do anything crazy.”

 _At least get something to eat first,_ JJ suggested.

Schneep stared at the apartment door for a few silent moments before concluding that he was, indeed, pretty hungry and it might be a bad idea to go search the city on an empty stomach. But god, was he considering doing it anyway.

“Henrik…” Chase said, a warning in his voice. “Do you need me to Vulcan nerve pinch you?”

“No, no, I…you are right,” Schneep sighed. “But we are having a _very_ quick breakfast.”

 _That’s fair,_ JJ signed.

* * *

An hour later, the three of them were out on the streets of the city, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious that could help. That wasn’t exactly easy, though, as none of them knew what they were looking for. Jameson implied that he had a rough idea, but when pressed by the others he refused to answer. Given the details of his past, they could only assume talking about this knowledge would bring up bad memories.

They decided to start near the edges of the city and work their way in, figuring that Marvin would want to get as far away as possible if he was really sure that getting away from them was the right thing to do. From there, it was a matter of where they wanted to start. The northern section of the city was remote, but also fairly dangerous, so they decided to skip there. The western and southern sections were mostly residential, with the south being a little more suburban, and that meant lots of people around who could see someone in a mask and get suspicious, so odds were Marvin might not have headed there. Not to mention that JJ and Chase actually lived in those parts. So that left the east, which was mostly industrial and electrical, and also pretty remote. They’d start there, then gradually look in other places.

“Hope this works,” Chase muttered, glancing around the short concrete buildings. In the distance loomed a structure of wires and pylons. “I think we’re trespassing right now.”

“Well, if we are, there is no signs of anyone who could see us,” Schneep pointed out.

“ _Are_ no signs,” Chase corrected absentmindedly. “Jays, anything stand out?”

JJ slowly shook his head. In truth, he looked a little disoriented. He’d caught on fairly quickly to the everyday modern technology, but this new array of electrical equipment was confusing. He couldn’t tell what was out of place if it all looked strange to him.

Schneep growled. “This is taking forever! And there is still the rest of the city! We must go faster!” Accordingly, he sped up a bit.

“Uhh…” Chase sped up to be even with him, JJ walking a little bit behind the two. “Doc, aren’t you worried we might miss something? Or get tired?”

“I am not getting tired! And if you two would rather take time when Marvin could be in any sort of trouble, then you are free to do so, but not me!” And he broke into a run.

He didn’t know where he was going. He could hear Chase calling after him, but he didn’t look back, and he didn’t stop. Eventually, he couldn’t hear him anymore. And when he realized that, that was when he slowed down. He…hadn’t actually thought he’d be able to outrun those two. He must’ve been faster than he expected. Or Chase and Jameson were slower than he expected, also possible.

Somehow, he’d ended up in what looked like an area for producing electricity. There were wires and pylons and coils everywhere. Schneep was sort of confused as to how he got here…didn’t these sort of places usually have walls and fences? Had he run through an open gate and not notice? Well…he _did_ sort of forget to pay attention to things when he got angry. And once he thought that, he realized just how _mad_ he was. Not at Chase and Jameson, not at Marvin either. There wasn’t even really anything to set him off, why had he gotten so upset that he felt he needed to run away?

Well, now it was fading, and now he felt awful for leaving the other two behind. Schneep sighed. He’d have to go back and find them, but he wasn’t sure where they were. Guess he could text them…he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, quickly unlocking it and opening up a new text. Quickly, he typed, **I am sorry I ran like that. I was not thinking straight. Where are you? I am in a electrical generation area, I can come find you or you can find me.**

While he was waiting for a response, he looked around the area a bit more. He should probably leave anyway. Who knew what could go wrong in a place like this?

The little text alert noise sounded. He looked back down at the screen, only to find that the response made no sense. It was all garbled letters. Was Chase trying to type while running again? But no. As he watched, the letters changed, the message shortening and morphing but remaining just as nonsensical. Until it finally resolved into a single question:

**Did you miss m͟e?**

Schneep shrieked and immediately dropped his phone. It landed in the gravel covering the ground with a _crunch._ He backed away until he felt his back hit the base of one of the pylons. For a while, he could only stare at the phone from where it lay on the ground. He could feel his heart about to pound out of his ribcage. Maybe it hadn’t really happened. Maybe he’d imagined it.

Against his better judgement, he cautiously walked back over. He stopped some ways away, and instead of picking the phone back up, he leaned forward and peered at the screen. The message was still there. As he watched, the message deleted itself like someone was pressing the backspace button, to be replaced by a new one: **What’s wrong, mein lieber Artz? Shouldn’t you be used to this by now? It’s been ten months after all.**

He made a sound halfway between a gasp and a strangled squeak, then covering his mouth in shock. No, no no no, this was a trick, it was—he was lying! This couldn’t be just another illusion. He looked around. It was real. It was really here, he could feel the slight breeze, see the sunlight reflecting off far-off windows, hear the quiet electrical whine—

_The sound that was always there, it never stopped, always a faint electrical humming or whining, only broken by the crackle of static—_

“No!” He covered his ears, hands pressing so hard it almost hurt. That sound didn’t mean anything, this place generated electricity, of course that sound would be there. Even—even if _that_ place had a similar sound, it meant nothing! It didn’t mean that he was still…

“But d̷oe̴sn̶’t it?”

At the sound of the voice inside his head, he yelled, spinning around in a circle to see if _he_ was near. There was nothing he could see, but there was a slight flicker in the corner of his eyes, a shadow of a smiling face. He turned and turned and turned but could never see him fully. His feet were kicking up gravel like crazy, but all he knew was that he—was that _Anti_ was laughing at him.

“You really thought I’d just l͢et ̷yo͡u go? Or did you think you were clever enough to get away? It’s been fun watching you scramble about, but now it is time for the truth to come out.”

“You are _lying!_ ” he screamed. The sound echoed through the empty area, bouncing off the metal pylons and coils. And as if he’d poured all his adrenaline-fueled fear into that yell, he fell to his knees, not minding how the gravel bit into his legs, and wrapped his arms around himself. This was real. This was real. It had to be real.

“It doesn’t ‘have to be’ anything.”

Schneep flinched at the words that responded to his thoughts. He looked around, and when he faced forward again he saw a hint of a shadow. Just barely there, could easily be overlooked as a trick of the light, unless you knew better. Unless you could make out the silhouette of a person grinning down at you.

There was a trick here somewhere. But was that trick in the here and now, with Anti trying to fool him into thinking it’s all a lie? Or had the entire past week or so been nothing but an illusion? Was he still in that awful place? Were the others really with him, or was he alone? His breathing was quickening, and tears were filling his eyes. He didn’t know. He couldn’t tell, he couldn’t tell, he couldn’t tell if it was fake or real, what was he supposed to do? He needed help, he needed someone—

Someone had been there before. Last time he’d had a breakdown like this, someone had been there to help him pick up the pieces. And all the times since then, there was always someone around to ground him when he started to spiral. What had their advice been?

Start by breathing slowly, controlling it manually. Focus on something besides the thoughts in your head. In…out…in…out…And then find something solid to notice. Like the feeling of the gravel beneath his knees. The breeze. The sun, high in the sky.

This would usually be followed up with reminders that he’s safe now, but…that couldn’t really be true, could it? Not when he could clearly _see_ the shadow in front of him. Staring at him. Waiting for something.

And as he stared back, he slowly realized the tears were still threatening his eyes. No more than a few had slipped out. Was…was _that_ was he was waiting for? For him to fall entirely to pieces? Of course it was. That was what Anti was all about. Tearing people apart and smiling while he did it.

Schneep slowly stood up, keeping his eyes on the shadow the whole time. He thought he somehow…sensed that the smile was fading, even though he couldn’t see anything in this basic outline. “Get. Away,” he said in a low voice.

The shadow’s head tilted sideways. “And what if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?”

“It is not about what I am going to do, is about what I am not going to do.” He stepped forward. “And I am _not_ going to break apart for your fucking amusement. I do not care what you say, I do not care what you do, I do not fucking care about your attempts to make me afraid!” His voice had risen to a shout at this point. “Get away from me! You do not get to laugh at my tears anymore!”

For a moment, Anti’s shadow was still, unmoving. Then he spoke. “Perhaps for now. You have a bigger part to play, d̨o͢ctor͟.” And the shadow faded away, leaving nothing but an echoing “I’l͟l s̢e͢e̴ y҉ou̢ a͞ga͝in.”

Schneep was left alone. He felt like he’d just run a mile, heart pounding and surprisingly out of breath. But he also felt…relieved.

“Henrik!”

He spun around at the sound of the voice. Chase and JJ were weaving their way in between the various pylons toward him. “Oh! Hello!” He walked toward them, meeting them.

“Dude, what happened?” Chase asked. “You never responded to my text. I mean, you texted me first, you know, but when I asked you for more details you never answered.” He glanced behind Schneep. “Did you…drop your phone?”

“…ah.” Schneep wasn’t too keen on picking that back up, but he guessed he had to. He quickly walked back over, grabbed it, and checked the screen. Chase’s response text was now clearly visible. He hurriedly tucked it into his pocket as he returned to the other two. “There…is a reason for that.” He took a deep breath, looking both Chase and JJ in the eyes briefly. “ _He_ was here.”

Chase gaped, a horrified expression on his face. JJ’s eyes widened, and he launched immediately into signing. _Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Do you need any help? Are you…okay?_ The second time asking the question, it was clear JJ was talking about more than just being physically alright.

Schneep gave a small smile. “I am fine. _Really,_ ” he insisted, seeing the doubt on the other two’s faces. “I was having some trouble, but I managed to sort it all out.” His eyes hardened. “He is not going to get that satisfaction.” Never again. It didn’t matter what happened, he refused to give Anti what he wanted.

Chase and JJ exchanged glances. _If you insist…_ JJ signed.

“I do insist. In fact, I am sorry to you two about running away. I do not know what I was thinking.”

“You were thinking that you’re worried and frustrated, so you turned it into anger because that’s the easy thing for you, and when we said anything that just made it worse because it wasn’t making the worry go away, so you decided to just get away from the situation altogether.” Chase said this whole spiel in a voice that was almost monotone. He cracked a smile at Schneep’s astonished face, though. “What? Dude, I’ve known you for years now, I’ve figured out how you work.”

Schneep shook his head, laughing softly. “Okay, okay. Now I think we should continue with the search. Maybe in a…different area of the city.”

“Good idea. C’mon, let’s go.” 

* * *

It was starting to get into late afternoon, and the three of them hadn’t seen any sign of Marvin yet. The three of them decided to stop and take a break for food. They settled down at a little restaurant that was close to the industrial district, but still within the confines of the bustling business part of the city. None of them recognized it or had ever been there before, but it was the nearest place to eat.

“People are staring at us…” Chase remarked, looking around the restaurant.

 _They probably think we’re triplets,_ JJ signed, shrugging.

“Probably…” Chase’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why _do_ we look so much alike anyways?”

“Genetics are strange,” Schneep remarked. “Did you know that every person has seven people in the world who look just like them?”

“And…what, most of us just happened to meet each other?”

“Precisely. It is a strange coincidence, but that is all it is.” Schneep’s voice was firm, shutting down all attempts at arguing.

JJ, however, was not fooled. _You seem awfully ready to convince us that a coincidence is, indeed, all it is. Is something the matter?_

Schneep leaned back in his chair and sighed, staring out the window their table was sitting next to. “There were…many strange things _he_ said.” The words came out slowly. “Very many…unusual things about how our world works. I think he said them just to torment me, but…they have a habit of sticking around.”

For a moment, everyone was silent. The air seemed a bit heavier than it was before, weighed down with unspoken things. “And…he talked about why we all look the same?” Chase asked softly. “Obviously you don’t have to answer, but if you want to…”

“I feel safe in telling you that he did,” Schneep said slowly, looking back at the others. “About us, and him, and…and Jack.” The last word was whispered.

“Henrik, you’re kinda…you look uncomfortable,” Chase said. “Why don’t we talk about something else? Like, uhhhh, the weather! Let’s talk about the weather.”

Schneep laughed. “Yes, it is very fine weather. You could not think of anything better?”

“Gimme a break, I’m not creative!” Chase fell silent as he listened to a voice call out his name. “Oh, sounds like our order’s ready. I might need help carrying the food, either of you volunteer?” Schneep shot a pair of death daggers at him with his eyes. “Alright then. JJ?”

Jameson wasn’t paying attention. He was staring with some intent out the window.

“Jays? You alright?” Chase asked.

When there was still no answer, Schneep joined in. “Jamie, is there something concerning you?”

 _Do the two of you see that shop opposite this one?_ JJ asked. Chase and Schneep looked out the window. The other shop was a clothing store, and it looked closed. In fact, it looked like it had been closed for a long, long time. The display window was sprinkled with dust. _Is it just me, or does it have a rather…unusual symbol on its awning?_

Chase squinted. “I…guess? It’s just a design, bro.”

JJ shook his head, suddenly bouncy with excitement. _No, I recognize that. It’s a rune! Not a very common one, but a rune nonetheless._

“And you mean to say…that this ‘rune’ is magic?” Schneep asked. “That shop might be one of these hidden places we were trying to find?”

 _Possibly. Runes are always magical, or magickal!_ JJ spelled out the two variations of the word so there could be no confusion. _And it’s worth taking a crack at it. We don’t have anything to lose and a lot to gain._

“Huh. Well, why not?” Chase shrugged. “But can we do that _after_ lunch? Or, I guess it’s actually ‘linner’ at this point.” He laughed to himself.

_Yes, yes, nothing wrong with filling up first. It’d most likely be problematic to rush into a magician’s lair on an empty stomach._

“Well. I’m gonna go get out food then.” Chase scooted his chair back and stood up. “Don’t mind me. Carrying it back to the table all by myself. All alone.”

“Good luck with that, my friend,” Schneep smirked. JJ giggled silently.

“Oh, screw you two.” Chase flipped them a friendly gesture before walking away, leaving the others snickering behind their hands.

 _He really should be more polite with those hands of his,_ JJ signed.

“Indeed.” Schneep stared out the window once more.

Maybe this trip wouldn’t be a total waste. Even if they found nothing, he felt that something was gained.


	17. Dabbling in Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase, Schneep, and JJ’s search for Marvin brings them to some magical places.

“Alright. So we think we’ve found one of these secret magic shops. Now…how do we get in?” Chase stood with his hands on his hips, looking over the shop window. It looked just like a closed-down clothing store, with dusty mannequins wearing outdated fashion. If JJ hadn’t identified one of the symbols on its awning as a rune, they probably would’ve walked right past it.

 _Well, the door should be open,_ JJ remarked.

Chase rolled his eyes, but tried pulling on the the shop’s door. Then he tried pushing. “No, it’s not open,” he said, stepping back.

“Maybe it is just because we are not magic,” Schneep speculated.

JJ tried the door as well, finding it just as stuck. He stepped back, puzzled. _Maybe,_ he said slowly. _But I’ve never heard of one that’s not accessible to non-magicians._

There was a sign hanging in the door, reading “CLOSED.” Shortly after JJ tried opening the door, it flipped over to the “OPEN” side. Something clicked in the door. The three looked at each other.

“Well. I suppose it was just delayed,” Schneep tried to shrug it off. He walked past the other two and pulled the door open. The three of them vanished inside, the door shutting behind them on its own. The sign flipped back to “CLOSED.”

The shop inside was much smaller than the outside of the building would have you believe. Or maybe that was just because of the clutter inside. Tables and shelves were dotted across the wooden floor at random, piled high with crystals, jewelry, and some strange, mechanical-looking devices. Bookshelves were overflowing with leather-bound spellbooks. There was a counter at the back of the shop, made of dark wood. It had a cash register and what looked like a chemistry set on top of it. Hanging lamps overhead cast the whole store in yellow light.

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Chase commented, looking around.

“What is this even for?” Schneep muttered. He picked up a silver hand mirror from the nearest table, turning it over in his hands.

 _It may be best to not touch anything,_ JJ said, proceeding to take the mirror from Schneep and put it back. _This place is hidden because it, for some reason, doesn’t follow the magician’s regulations._

“Magicians have regulations?” Chase snorted. “Is it like Harry Potter? Is there a Ministry of Magic?”

“Actually, it’s called the ABIM,” said a strange voice.

Schneep suddenly yelped. Chase jumped, nearly knocking over a rack of necklaces, which JJ steadied. “Who said that?!” Schneep hissed.

“Hello!” There was now a woman standing behind the counter. How she got there so quickly wasn’t clear. Her hair was dyed blue and purple, cut in a style between an undercut and a mohawk. “Looking for something?” She flashed a smile.

“Um…” Chase was the only one to say anything. “Is…this your place?”

“Indeed it is.” The woman spread her arms wide. “Welcome! The name’s Yvonne. Come to buy something? I’m not quite picking up a magic signature from any of you, but I’m not one to poke at that. I sell a lot of witchcraft items as well as magic ones!”

JJ coughed awkwardly. _We’re actually looking for someone. We were wondering if you’d seen him?_

“Hmm.” Yvonne leaned against the counter. “Sorry, I’m a bit rusty, am I getting this correct? You’re looking for someone, you think I’ve seen them?”

JJ nodded, surprise and relief flashing across his face.

“Well, obviously, I’d have to know more about this person in question.” Yvonne shrugged.

“He looks like us,” Schneep jumped in. “But he is a magician. He likes to wear a mask, white and shaped like a cat’s face?”

Yvonne’s eyes lit up. “Goes by the name of Marvin?”

“So you know him,” Chase said.

“Haven’t seen him in a while, but yeah, he’s come in once or twice.”

The three exchanged looks. _Do you know where he might be?_ JJ asked.

“Dunno where he is, but…” She grinned. “I can help you find him. It’ll cost you, though.”

Schneep narrowed his eyes. “Cost in what way?”

“I have money,” Chase said, digging into his pocket.

“No, don’t worry about cash. Your friend in the glasses asked the right question.” Yvonne snapped her fingers, muttering something under her breath. Her eyes started to glow blue, and a wisp of smokey magic slithered away from her fingers, mostly blue with yellow at the end. “My specialty is soul magic. Unfortunately, it’s a magic that requires materials.”

“Okay, no, we’re leaving.” Chase turned around and started heading for the door. “This isn’t worth selling our souls. We can find another way.”

“Hey, I’m not asking you to give me your souls,” Yvonne hurried to say. “Honestly, I don’t think there are spells to do that.” She paused. “I mean, there are spells to send someone’s soul to a nightmare dimension, but it’s not like I get to keep them when I do that.”

“This is not encouraging,” Chase said. Nevertheless, he stopped walking and turned around.

“All I’m going to ask for is a little bit of soul essence from one of you.” Yvonne reached underneath the counter, withdrawing what looked like a test tube full of a clear liquid, blocked with a cork, and a needle the length of a pencil.

“And that is _really_ not encouraging.” Chase took a few steps backwards. Schneep and JJ didn’t move, but they didn’t exactly look excited about that needle.

“Okay, I understand how this looks.” Yvonne put the needle and glass tube down on the counter. “But it won’t hurt, other than a slight pinch, and I can’t use your essence for anything specific to you.”

Schneep started to laugh. “We would need more than your word for that! We do not know if you are lying!”

Yvonne paused. “Alright, that’s fair. But really, the most I can do is apply a tracking spell. And besides, even if I could do more, why would I want to?”

“I don’t know, this sounds like something that can be used to make some kind of voodoo doll,” Chase remarked.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t practice that,” Yvonne said dismissively. “Look, if you want to find Marvin, I need something in exchange, and this seems fair to me.”

“Does not seem fair to us,” Schneep muttered.

“Well, I only need it from one of you.” Yvonne raised an eyebrow. “And your friend with the mustache has been pretty quiet about this whole thing.”

Chase and Schneep looked over at JJ. “You’re not actually considering this, are you?” Chase asked.

Jameson didn’t say anything. He folded his arms, shifting in place.

Schneep blinked. “ _No_. You are _not._ ”

Jameson sighed. _Well…_

“Dude?!” Chase stared at him, mouth gaping. “This sounds shady as all hell!”

 _We need to find Marvin fast,_ Jameson explained. _Before…anything happens to him. And with what’s been going on these past few days…there’s a chance that something bad could, indeed, happen._

“You cannot seriously be—!” Schneep seemed to be at a lost for words.

 _Well, it’s not your choice to make, is it?_ Jameson walked up to the counter. He nodded at Yvonne. _I’m willing to trade._

Yvonne smiled. She picked up the needle, and took Jameson’s hand. “This’ll hurt just a bit more than a flu shot,” she said. And then she stuck the needle in Jameson’s wrist. He gasped. Yvonne made a shushing sound. The needle stayed there for a few seconds more before she withdrew it, holding it point-up. Red trickled down the length of the needle. She picked up the glass tube, pulling the cork out with her teeth, and dropped the needle inside. The blood inside mixed with the clear liquid, and then she withdrew the needle again. “See, not so hard,” she said, setting it down.

Jameson grasped his wrist, covering the spot where she’d stuck the needle. He seemed very stiff, eyes suddenly distant.

Yvonne didn’t notice. She recapped the glass tube, swirling around its contents. Her eyes turned blue again. “Entruvum le vériat dein alima,” she muttered. Wisps of blue and yellow magic spun around the outside of the tube, covering the inside from view. “Haz facorm i en réa.” The magic faded away. The substance inside had turned opaque, the color now a pale blue. She smiled. “Right. Now, I promised to find your friend.”

“…yes, you did.” Schneep walked up to JJ. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him behind him. Jameson didn’t seem to notice.

“Right.” Yvonne picked up the glass tube and needle, then bent over, replacing it under the counter. When she straightened, she was holding a different tube. This one filled with a pale green liquid. “Alright, as I told you earlier, this essence can be used…for a tracking spell.”

“Wait…” Chase’s eyes widened. “Is that—is that Marvin’s?!”

She chuckled. “I told you I knew him.” She walked over to the chemistry set, which, upon further inspection, looked a bit…odd. For one, there was a crystal ball in the center, supported in a ring of silvery metal. The inside of the sphere was swirling with off-white mist. Yvonne uncapped the glass tube with Marvin’s soul essence, and poured a few drops on top of the sphere. The mist inside suddenly exploded into bright green sparks, a raging fire. “Little bit on the soul seeker,” Yvonne muttered, placing her hands on top of the sphere. “And…” she shuddered. Her eyes glazed over, turning all blue.

The sphere was engulfed in a tornado of blue mist. She fiddled with other parts of the chemistry set, adjusting some of the instruments, then reached down and pulled a thin wire contraption out from under the counter. She tapped one end of the contraption to the sphere. The blue mist was suddenly sucked off the sphere and swirled around the wire before sinking into the metal. Yvonne’s eyes faded to normal. “Here,” she said, handing the wire contraption to the boys. “This should function as a dowsing rod now.”

Schneep ended up taking the newly-formed dowsing rod. “How?” He asked, looking down at the wire dubiously.

Yvonne sighed. There were dark circles under her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Just point it around, you’ll feel it pulling you when you get it facing the right direction.”

“Huh.” Schneep still looked skeptical, but he also looked like he wanted to get out of this shop. “Well, ah…thank you.”

“Pleasure doing business with you!” Yvonne wiggled her fingers, waving goodbye as the three of them left the shop.

* * *

“So, I just hold these two bits and turn around?” Chase asked, looking the dowsing rod over. 

“There has to be a better word for it than just ‘these two bits,’" Schneep muttered.

“Well, what else am I supposed to call it? It looks like a wishbone, what do you call the two bits on the wishbone? The feet or something?” Chase shook his head. “So I just spin in a circle?”

“Apparently.” Schneep shrugged.

While Chase proceeded to spin around in the middle of the sidewalk, Schneep went down to sit on the curb, next to Jameson. The other man was staring into the middle distance, looking at nothing. “Are you okay?” Schneep asked, voice soft.

Jameson jumped, and shook himself out of his trance-like state. _Yes, I’m alright._

“Are you sure?” Schneep persisted. “You…you went sort of…distant.”

Jameson hunched his shoulders. _Yes, I tend to do that sometimes. You just haven’t seen it yet._

“Ah.” Schneep fell silent. He mentally went over what had happened in the shop. The magician, Yvonne, had grabbed Jameson’s hand and stuck him with a needle. His left hand. The one covered in scars. It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together from there. “I am…sorry that upset you.”

 _Thank you,_ Jameson signed. He fell silent. Schneep didn’t say anything either. After a while, Jameson reached over and grabbed Schneep’s hand. He squeezed it. Schneep squeezed back.

“I think I got it,” Chase said. The other two looked over at him, seeing him holding the dowsing rod pointed in a direction down the street. “It kind of feels like a tug-of-war, except the other person isn’t trying too hard.” He chuckled.

“Ah, good.” Schneep stood up, Jameson following soon after. “Let’s head in that direction, then.”

Chase groaned. “I’m tired of walking. Can we just take the bus, or something? Or stop by my house so I can get my car?”

 _You haven’t used that auto in months, I don’t trust it to start correctly,_ JJ remarked.

“Alright, fine. But, bus? Please? We don’t know how far away this…this thing we’re looking for…” Confusion momentarily clouded his face. Then he blinked, and it was gone. “I mean, Marvin. We don’t know how far he’s gone.”

“He cannot have gone that far. He has only been gone a day or so.” Schneep looked up into the afternoon sky. “Not even that.”

“So. Bus, then. Look, there’s a stop right there, let’s go.” Chase headed towards the bus stop on the side of the street. Jameson and Schneep looked at each other, shrugged, then followed.

* * *

They did have to eventually get off of the bus, as the dowsing rod started pulling them in a different direction. They also had to backtrack a couple times, as Chase lost track of where the pull was coming from. Apparently Marvin was wandering around. But eventually, they came across a small courtyard, barely the size of a house and fenced-off. There were a few trees and bushes and not much else. It didn’t look remarkable at first, until—

“That bush is burning,” Schneep noticed. It wasn’t actually too big a blaze, though it did look like it once might have been, given the state of some of the nearby vegetation.

“And the fire is…green?” Chase added.

 _Well, I suppose Marvin is definitely here, then,_ JJ commented. _Chase, is it still pulling?_

“Yeah, right into here.” Chase opened the courtyard’s gate, stepping inside. “Let’s go.”

The courtyard was oddly quiet. And empty of any people, which was odd. The dowsing rod guided them to the back, where a pair of aspen trees stood side by side.

“That looks like a gate to the fairy world,” Schneep said. “Look, you can fit a door in between the trunks.”

“Do fairies exist?” Chase wondered.

 _I haven’t seen one,_ JJ said.

“Well, anyway. Maybe it’s magic. Because this can’t have led us to a wrong place.” Chase shook the dowsing rod.

“Unless she lied about what it does,” Schneep muttered.

“A possibility. But who knows?” Chase walked forward, looking over the two trees. And then he stepped in between them. And disappeared.

Schneep made a strangled, choking sound. He looked at JJ, who stared back, baffled. And the two of them also stepped between the trees.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by trees, trees much taller than the ones in the courtyard. And some of the trees were burning, green fire eating at their branches. Others were covered in blue ice, and the forest floor was dotted with crystal stalagmites. Chase was already through. He waved at Schneep and JJ when they appeared, and pointed through the trees.

There were four people standing there. Marvin was one of them. He was facing a group of three, all of whom were dressed in rather nice clothes. One of them was talking, an older woman with dark hair and eyes.

“—if you drop by there, it’ll all be good,” she was saying. “I’m there all the time.”

Marvin didn’t say anything. He looked down and kicked at the ground. There was a strange book clutched in his arms.

“Do you got that?” The woman emphasized.

“Yeah,” Marvin muttered. “I fucking got it.”

The woman didn’t seem too happy with Marvin’s attitude, but she let it slide. “Remember, my name is Delyth. Delyth Mae. Tell them I sent you.”

“I _got it!_ ” Marvin snapped. “I got it the first time you said it!”

Delyth’s eyes flashed. “Watch it, elemental, you’re being let off the hook because you’ve been ignorant for so long. It won’t be the same next time you meet some of us.”

“I guess they’re right, then, ignorance is bliss,” Marvin said, chuckling.

Delyth sighed irritably. She looked around the forest, probably looking at the damage done to the trees, but then she spotted Chase, Schneep and JJ. She looked back at Marvin. “Friends of yours?”

Marvin glanced over to where she was looking. When he saw who was there, he stiffened like a deer in the headlights. He didn’t say anything.

“Um…hi?” Chase waved awkwardly. “Hi, Marv. Found you.”

Marvin still didn’t say anything. He clutched the book tighter.

“Well,” Delyth sighed again. “All of you, back through the gate. We’ll send someone to fix this mess.”

The entire group retreated back through the “gate,” which was another pair of close trees on this end. Once back in the courtyard, the group of three strangers disappeared down the street, leaving Marvin with the other three.

 _Well…_ JJ said, shifting awkwardly. _That was—_

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” Schneep shouted. “You leave?! Just when we’d lost another?! What the fuck?! Do you even realize what you’ve done?!”

“I left you a note,” Marvin mumbled.

“That note was bullshit!” Schneep yelled. “You said we would be safer without you! What would even cause you to think that?! Have you not heard safety in numbers?!”

“So how’d you guys find me, anyway?” Marvin asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Schneep looked like he kept wanting to yell, but Chase started talking first. “We went to this crazy magic store and this lady with blue and purple hair said she could help us find you, if we gave her our souls.”

 _That’s not what she said,_ JJ added. _She wanted soul essence._

“Yeah, well.” Chase rolled his eyes. “You didn’t have to agree to it. But anyway, she gave us this thing—” He waved the dowsing rod. “—and it led us to you.”

“Oh. Yeah, I know who you’re talking about,” Marvin said. “JJ did you…did you actually give her some soul essence?”

JJ nodded. _It seemed the quickest way to get to you. Though I don’t think any of us were expecting to find you…here._ He waved at the tree gate.

“Yeah, uh.” Marvin bit his lip. “Apparently there are other magicians out there. I…I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You really thought you were the only one with magic in the world?” Schneep drawled. “Where do you think all the spells come from?”

“I don’t know! I guess it just didn’t occur to me!” Marvin said defensively. He shook his head. “Anyway, the magic police tracked me down, and I maaaay have responded…aggressively.”

“Dude,” Chase said.

“Shut up, I know!” Marvin snapped. “Anyway, we all got teleported to this forest through this gate thing, and I mean, I eventually um. Realized they didn’t want to arrest me. So there’s that. They’re still kind of pricks, though. They want me to write a book or something.” Marvin took a step back from the other three. “Well, it was fun to see you. I gotta go now.”

“Wait, what?! No!” Schneep snapped. “We took all morning to find you, we did not do that just for you to leave again!”

“Look, I just have stuff to do.” Marvin wasn’t looking at any of them. Well, he didn’t usually make eye contact, but this was clear avoidance. “Gotta fucking…study these dimensional spells, you know?”

“You were doing fine with that back in the apartment,” Schneep said.

“Yeah, dude, you are not disappearing again, that’s a dick move,” Chase added.

“Well, maybe I’m a dick, then!” Marvin snapped.

 _No you’re not,_ JJ signed. _You shouldn’t say things like that._

Marvin softened a bit at that. “Alright. I’m not a dick. But I stand by wh-what I said.”

 _You mean that we’d be safer without you? How could you say that?_ JJ shook his head. _We’d be so worried._

“Well…I can take care of myself,” Marvin said.

 _We know you can, but that’s not going to stop us from being worried anyway,_ JJ said. _You’re our_ friend, _Marvin. We don’t want anything to happen to you._

“Exactly!” Schneep nodded in agreement. “And how can we know nothing happens to you if you leave and do not tell us where you are going?!”

“Yeah, dude,” Chase piped up.

Marvin took a step back from the group. His mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to get the words together in his head. “I—I just—I was with Jackie when _he_ took him, so maybe if I left—”

 _Maybe if you left, he’d leave us alone?_ JJ finished. _Marvin, it was a coincidence that you were there. Nothing there was your fault. You just believe it is, I believe it’s called survivor’s guilt._ His face darkened. _And besides, even if you did have something to do with it, Anti is not the type of person to leave someone alone._

Everyone flinched when JJ signed the same.

“Besides, w-we…” Schneep took a deep breath, steadying himself. “We saw him even after you left.”

Marvin paled. “…what?”

Schneep nodded. “So you see…you see it will happen anyway. I—we would hate for him to find you when you are along.”

“Safety in numbers, as they say,” Chase said, smiling. 

Marvin fell silent. He looked down at the ground, kicking at the grass. He blinked furiously. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at the others. “I don’t exactly have a place to stay, you know. I can’t stay with Chase, that’s gonna look suspicious since, you know, the police are still after me.”

 _You can stay with me,_ JJ said. _They don’t even know I’m there!_

Marvin laughed. “We do need to get you some public records some time.”

_But not today!_

Another laugh, which quickly faded. “Alright,” Marvin said quietly. “I…I guess I won’t leave.”

“Woohoo!” Chase threw his hands in the air. Schneep smiled. JJ whistled, and went in for a hug before pausing, checking to see if it was alright. Marvin rolled his eyes, and leaned up against JJ.

_Let’s go home, then._

“You said it.” 


End file.
